The United Kingdom has returned 32 royal artefacts looted from Ghana’s Asante Kingdom in the 19th Century in a “loan deal” agreed on by the two governments last year.
The artefacts which are mainly golden royal regalia, were looted over 150 years ago from the Asante Palace in Kumasi during the Anglo-Asante Wars, including the infamous Sargrenti War of 1874.
The revered items which were returned to the West African country by the British Museum (BM) and the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), will however, will be on loan for an initial three years and renewable for another three years.
A statement by the the Asante Palace on Thursday stated that the loan deal is not with the Ghanaian government but with the current traditional ruler of the Ashanti people, Otumfo Osei Tutu II.
The idea behind the loan deal, according to local media, is based on the premise of legal restrictions in the UK which have made it impossible to return the artefacts permanently.
The return of the artefacts also coincides with the silver jubilee anniversary of Asantehene Osei Tutu II, who first started the negotiations in May last year.
“Gold and silver regalia, associated with the Asante royal court, will be displayed at the Palace Museum as part of a long-term loan commitment by the Victoria & Albert and the British Museum,” the Asantehene’s Palace said.
It added that Tutu will receive the gold artefacts which are the symbol of the Asante traditional authority. in specially designed Belgian cases in Kumasi, after which the Manhyia Palace Museum will be closed for three weeks for installation works and encasing.
Many of the items which will be seen in Ghana for the first time in 150 years, include 15 pieces from the British Museum and 17 from the Victoria & Albert Museum and will be on display and open to the public in May.