A portion of Ghana’s “crown jewels” are being returned home by the UK, following 150 years of theft from the Asante king’s court.
A gold peace pipe is one of the 32 items that were returned under long-term loan arrangements, according to the BBC.
The British Museum is the source of fifteen of the seventeen pieces that the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is lending.
After years of animosity, Ghana’s chief negotiator stated he expected “a new sense of cultural cooperation”.
Due to legal restrictions on permanently removing contested pieces from their collections, several national institutions in the UK, like the British Museum and the V&A, consider loan agreements like this one as a way to allow artifacts to return to their countries of origin.
However, some nations claiming possession of contested artifacts worry such loans could be interpreted as an endorsement of UK ownership.
The gold court regalia is comparable to “our Crown Jewels,” according to Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, who made this statement to the BBC.
Items to be lent include gold badges worn by officials tasked with purging the king’s soul and a sword of state, the majority of which were stolen during the 19th-century battles between the British and the Asante.
Many other relics from Ghana are on display in UK museums, one of the most well-known pieces of Asante regalia being a gold trophy head.
The Asante established what was once one of the strongest and most threatening nations in West Africa. They traded in textiles, gold, and human slaves, among other things.
The kingdom was well-known for its wealth and military prowess. Even now, the Asantehene occasionally needs an assistant to hold his arm during formal handshakes because he might be so burdened by bulky gold bracelets.
The majority of the objects the V&A is returning were acquired at an auction held by London jewelers Garrards, who look after the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom, on April 18, 1874.
Additionally, a total of fifteen objects, including a sword of the state known as the Mpomponsuo, which was looted during a later fight in 1895–96, are being returned on loan by the British Museum.
Additionally, there is a ceremonial hat known as a Denkyemke that is adorned with an abundance of gold embellishments. Senior courtiers wore it during coronations and other important celebrations.
