Britain to return looted royal regalia to Ghana in loan deal
25/01/2024 12:31
LONDON, Jan 25 (Reuters) - Britain is returning a
selection of Ghanaian gold regalia looted from an Asante king in
the 19th century, in a historic loan deal set out on Thursday.
Some 32 artefacts from the British Museum and the Victoria &
Albert Museum in London will be loaned to the Manhyia Palace
Museum in the Ghanaian city of Kumasi, 150 years after they were
stolen, the museums said in a statement.
The objects, including a gold peace pipe and a sword of
state, "are of cultural, historical and spiritual significance
to the Asante people," the statement said.
"They are also indelibly linked to British colonial history
in West Africa, with many of them looted from Kumasi during the
Anglo-Asante wars of the 19th century."
Britain is at the centre of an impassioned debate over the
repatriation of priceless objects appropriated in colonial
times. Nigeria and Ethiopia are among a number of countries
seeking repatriation of looted artefacts.
However, some museums say they are banned by law from
permanently returning contested items in their collections.
A dispute over the Parthenon sculptures, housed at the
British Museum, escalated last year when Britain's Prime
Minister Rishi Sunak cancelled a meeting with Greek premier
Kyriakos Mitsotakis in a row over discussing their status.
Greece has repeatedly called on the museum to return the
2,500-year-old sculptures that British diplomat Lord Elgin
removed from the Parthenon temple in the early 19th century.
The museum's trustees have said they would consider a loan
to Greece if Athens acknowledges its ownership of the
sculptures, which Greek governments have refused in the past.
The partnership with the Ghanaian museum comes after Asante
King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, known as the Asantehene, visited
London last May to attend the coronation of King Charles.
He met the leaders of the London museums, opening
discussions which were followed by months of negotiations over
the potential return of Ghana's "crown jewels".
The gold peace pipe and gold discs worn by officials
responsible for cleansing the soul of the king are among 17
items V&A plans to lend to the Ghanaian museum.
Objects selected from the British Museum consist mostly of
royal regalia looted from the palace in Kumasi during the
Anglo-Asante wars.
The items will be loaned under two separate three-year
agreements and are due to form part of an exhibition planned for
the Ghanaian king's silver jubilee celebration later this year,
according to the statement.
Asante kings grew powerful on local gold deposits and the
palace in Kumasi became the focal point for a lucrative
international gold trade from West Africa, the statement said.
(Reporting by Muvija M
Editing by Ros Russell)
((Muvija.M@thomsonreuters.com; within the UK: +44 7776813338,
outside the UK: +91 80 61822698; Twitter: https://twitter.com/muvija_m;))