UK to Loan Back the Asante's 'Crown Jewels'

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Facts

  • The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) announced that a total of 32 items are being returned to the current Asante monarch Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on a three-year loan deal, following their seizure by British troops in what is now Ghana in the 19th century.1
  • According to a press release, the agreement is the culmination of nine months of negotiations following an official visit by the Asante King, the Asantehene, to London in May 2023. The items will be loaned to the Manhyia Palace Museum and exhibited to mark Tutu II's Silver jubilee, the 150th anniversary of the Anglo-Asante War, and the centenary of Asantehene Prempeh I's return from exile.2
  • The statement continues that the objects are of 'cultural, historical and spiritual significance to the Asante people,' as well as being a symbol of 'British colonial history in West Africa.' The deal, which contains an option to extend the loan by a further three years, sees 17 items leaving the V&A and 15 leaving the British Museum.2
  • The Items include 13 pieces of 'Asante Royal regalia,' acquired by the V&A at auction in 1874 following a 'raid on and destruction of the royal [Asante] royal palace;' as well as 'items of regalia' held by the British Museum associated with Asantehenes Kofi Kakari and Prempeh I following looting 'directly from the palace(s) in Kumasi.'2
  • The loan works around current UK legislation that bans disputed cultural objects from being returned to their country of origin.3
  • Nana Oforiatta Ayim, a special adviser to Ghana's minister of culture, stated that the loan was a 'good starting point,' with the return of 'part of the soul of the nation.'4

Sources: 1Independent, 2britishmuseum.org, 3BBC News and 4Sahara Reporters.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by The Telegraph. Any deal between Asante royalty and the UK will have inevitably required the Ghanaian community to accept the legality of the British Museum and V&A's possession of its treasures. With Greece, Nigeria, and Ethiopia amongst those vocally demanding the repatriation of items of cultural significance, there is certainly hope that this agreement may provide a foundation for further deals allowing artifacts to temporarily return to their original homes.