KUMASI.- The monarch of the Asante kingdom of Ghana inaugurated in the Manhyia Palace Museum from Kumasi a exhibition of dozens of royal objects looted during the colonial era, loaned by British museums to celebrate their silver wedding anniversary.
Founded in 1670 and dissolved by the British Empire in 1902, the Asante kingdom survives since 1957 as a traditional subnational state recognized by the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.
At the beginning of the year, the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum agreed to lend for three years, renewable for another three, 32 gold and silver treasures looted by the British military forces of the court of the Asante kingdom during the Anglo-Asante wars of the XIX century.
Among the treasures are the kingdom’s sword, called Mpomponsuo, and the gold insignia of officials authorized to purify the king’s soul.
The collection also contains a gold lute gifted by the Asante king Osei Bonsu to the British diplomat Thomas Edward Bowdich as part of a trade treaty in 1817.
At a ceremony in Kumasi, the center of Ghana’s Asante culture, current King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II declared that the first exhibition of artefacts at the Manhyia Palace Museum reflects the soul of the Asante people.
“Today is a great day for the Asantes, a great day for the black African continent and the spirits are with us again,” he added.
Pressure from institutions and museums
The return of these objects to Ghana comes at a time of increasing pressure on European and American museums and institutions to return African art stolen under the rule of former colonial powers such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Belgium.
According to Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, the objects, which symbolize the rich heritage of the Asante kingdom, are being returned to Ghana to address the very painful history surrounding the acquisition of these objects, a history marked by the scars of imperial conflict. and colonialism.
Chris Gosden, a trustee of the British Museum, said the museum was fully committed to continuing this relationship based on friendship, trust, mutual respect and a willingness to engage in dialogue.
He said the agreement reflects almost half a century of talks between Manhyia Palace and, especially, the British Museum. “The agreement lays the foundations for enhanced cultural cooperation between the Manhyia Palace Museum and the British Museum, and this loan is the first tangible result,” he said.
In turn, the Fowler Museum in the United States returned seven royal pieces to the king in February, with which the Manhyia Palace Museum currently houses 39 objects that had been looted by the colonial powers.
Nigeria is also negotiating the restitution of thousands of metal objects from the 16th to 18th centuries looted from the ancient kingdom of Benin and currently in the possession of museums and art collectors in the United States and Europe.
FUENTE: AFP
