The Fowler Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has willingly and permanently returned seven royal artifacts to the Asante kingdom, including an elephant tail whisk, an elegant chair, and a necklace.
The museum said in a statement that the artifacts were given to an official of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on February 5, 2024, the 150th anniversary of the British colonial troops’ 1874 sacking of the Asante capital of Kumasi, during which four of the returned artifacts were looted.
A number of artifacts, such as an elephant tail whisk, two royal stool ornaments, a gorget (royal necklace) or stool ornament, two strands of beads used as bracelets or anklets, and an ornate chair known as an asipim, were brought back in large part thanks to the efforts of the Fowler Museum, which is devoted to showcasing international arts and cultures.
These objects, which were donated by the Wellcome Trust in 1965, are now a part of the museum’s holdings.
The Fowler Museum’s director, Silvia Forni, oversaw the occasion, which was the organization’s first overseas visit.
The Fowler Museum has not placed any restrictions on the returned artifacts, so their stewards are free to choose whether to utilize them for public festivities, store them in the palace treasury, or exhibit them in a museum.
These objects, which were originally useful, might return to their ceremonial functions.
The items were 3D scanned before to their repatriation, and Ghanaian craftsmen made duplicates with the Asante royal palace’s approval.
Celebrated its 60th anniversary, the Fowler Museum—known for returning Native American tribal treasures to their rightful owners—returned the majority of its Native American remains and archeological artifacts to tribes in California, Arizona, Hawaii, and Utah.
In order to honor the current makers, the recently created reproductions by Ghanaian artists of today will be shown in the Fowler’s collections and exhibitions.
