The UK has returned dozens of looted artefacts in what is now Ghana – more than 150 years after they were taken.
Some 32 gold and silver items were sent to the country on long-term loan by the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum.
They were stolen from the court of King Asante, known as Asantehene, during the 19th century conflicts between the British and the powerful Asante people.
The objects are expected to be returned to the current king on Friday.
Its chief negotiator, Ivor Agyeman-Duah, told the BBC that the objects are currently in “safe hands” in Ghana before being formally received.
They are expected to be displayed next month at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, capital of the Ashanti region, as part of celebrations to mark the silver jubilee of the current Asante king, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Among the artifacts returned are a golden peace pipe, a sword of state, and gold badges worn by officials tasked with cleansing the king’s soul.
The gold artifacts are the ultimate symbol of Asante royal rule and are believed to be invested with the spirits of ancient Asante kings.
Nana Oforiatta Ayim, special adviser to Ghana’s culture minister, previously told the BBC that the objects were “part of the soul of the nation” and that they were “pieces of ourselves returning”.
The loan, which was negotiated with the king and not the Ghanaian government, will last for three years, with the option to extend for another three years.
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is loaning 17 pieces and 15 are from the British Museum.
Both museums said they were delighted to have returned the loaned objects as part of an important cultural collaboration.
Some national museums in the UK – including the V&A and the British Museum – are prohibited by law from permanently returning contested items in their collections, and loan arrangements like this are seen as a way of allowing objects to return to their countries of origin. . .
The return of Asante items takes place a month before celebrations marking the silver jubilee of the Asantehene.
The Asante people built what was once one of the most powerful and formidable states in West Africa – trading, among others, gold, textiles and enslaved people.
The kingdom was famous for its military power and wealth. Even now, when the Asantehene shakes hands on official occasions, he may be so burdened with heavy gold bracelets that he sometimes has an assistant whose job it is to support his arm.
Europeans were drawn to what they later called the Gold Coast by stories of African wealth, and Britain fought repeated battles with the Asante in the 19th century.
In 1874, following an Asante attack, British troops launched a “punitive expedition”, in the colonial parlance of the time, sacking Kumasi and taking many of the palace’s treasures.
Most of the items returned by the V&A were purchased at an auction on 18 April 1874 at Garrards, the London jewelers who hold the United Kingdom’s crown jewels, whilst some of the items on loan from the British Museum were looted during a later conflict in 1895. -96.
The return of the artefacts comes during an ongoing debate over what to do with other items exported from their native lands – including the Benin Bronzes and the Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Sculptures.
Some countries claiming disputed artefacts fear the loans could be used to imply they accept UK ownership.
However, these types of agreements are seen by others as a way for Britain to confront the cultural legacy of its colonial past while building better relations for the future.
