The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is more likely to return Asante gold regalia to Ghana after a current go to there by its director Tristram Hunt. These treasures had been seized throughout a British punitive raid in 1874.
Though worldwide consideration is now centered on the restitution of Benin bronzes to Nigeria from European and American collections, gadgets from the Asante kingdom are arguably of equal significance. Collectively, Benin and Asante (now in Ghana) characterize two of the best West African cultures. A return of treasures to Ghana by the V&A will inevitably improve strain on the British Museum, which holds a a lot bigger Asante assortment.
The British colony of the Gold Coast was expanded in 1872 and conflicts then intensified with the Asante kingdom, which lay to the north. In January 1874 British troops entered Kumasi, the Asante capital. Queen Victoria’s forces looted and blew up the palace of the king (Asantehene), Kofi Karikari. They then demanded 50,000 ounces of gold, nominally to get well the bills of the punitive raid. The seizure of the gold regalia stripped the Asante king of his symbols of presidency. Tensions continued over a few years and additional treasures have been seized throughout later navy campaigns in 1896 and 1900.
Tristram Hunt, the director of the V&A, needs to see restrictions eased on deaccessioning objects in his museum Peter Dewhirst/Alamy Inventory Photograph
Hunt, within the V&A’s newest annual evaluate, writes: “I visited Ghana to start conversations a couple of renewable cultural partnership centred across the V&A set of Asante court docket regalia, which entered the gathering following the looting of Kumasi in 1874. We’re optimistic {that a} new partnership mannequin can forge a possible pathway for these essential artefacts to be on show in Ghana within the coming years.”
On his go to in February, Hunt held discussions with each the Ghanaian ministry of tourism, arts and tradition and the present Asante king, Osei Tutu II.
Most UK nationwide museums are usually not usually capable of deaccession, within the V&A’s case due to restrictions integrated within the 1983 Nationwide Heritage Act. Hunt favours a loosening of this prohibition and with subsequent yr’s fortieth anniversary of the act, he wish to see a debate over deaccessioning.
Lengthy-term loans
For the current, the V&A can solely supply a long-term mortgage of Asante treasures, however finally such loans may result in a switch of authorized possession. We are able to report that the V&A-Ghanaian discussions have been partly facilitated by Ivor Agyeman-Duah, a Kumasi-born historian of Asante artwork and structure. He served as an adviser to John Kufuor, a former president of Ghana (2001-09), and was a former director of the Ghana Museums & Monuments Board.
One of many delicate points that wants addressing is whether or not treasures returned from Britain ought to be displayed within the nationwide capital, Accra, or the Asante capital, Kumasi.
Agyeman-Duah tells The Artwork Newspaper that he believes it will be important that looted Asante objects ought to be returned to the place they have been seized: “It’s applicable that they go to the palace in Kumasi.”
The venue there could be the Manhyia Palace Museum, a constructing erected in 1925, which served because the royal residence till 1970. In 1995 it grew to become a museum. It has been closed since final yr for refurbishment, together with upgrading safety and environmental situations, which can pave the best way for worldwide loans.
Golden fleeced: works in UK museums
The best a part of the V&A’s Asante assortment includes 13 items of looted Asante court docket regalia. These have been offered by the British military by way of the London crown jeweller Garrard.
Gold pectoral “soul” disc within the V&A’s assortment © V&A London
They embrace a adorned gold pectoral “soul” disc, formed like a flower, which might have been worn by monks concerned within the ritual purification of the king’s soul. There’s a additionally a pear-shaped pendant, both worn or probably hooked up to a state sword or stool. The remaining items of regalia are of gold.
The British Museum’s assortment of Asante objects is far bigger, together with 105 gadgets that have been seized in 1874. Of those, 83 have been bought from the crown brokers for the colonies, 12 from Garrard and ten elsewhere. An extra 12 items have been acquired after an 1896 raid.
Gold “soul” disc inserted right into a adorned encompass by Marquis of Exeter © The Trustees of the British Museum
Among the many most poignant objects within the British Museum’s assortment is a big gold “soul” disc. When acquired by the Marquess of Exeter in 1874 he had it framed by Garrard in a formidable gold encompass, made in London. On the reverse it’s inscribed, together with the aristocrat’s crest: “The gold decoration within the centre of this dish is a portion of the indemnity paid by the Ashanti King Espresso Calcalli to Her Majesty’s Forces.” This remodeled a sacred Asante spiritual object into an English conflict trophy. Maybe surprisingly, the article was purchased by the British Museum from the proprietor’s descendants in 1973, almost a century after the looting.
The Wallace Assortment has a shocking gold Asante trophy head which is the biggest identified piece of historic goldwork made in Africa, outdoors Egypt. This was purchased by Richard Wallace in 1874.
Gold trophy head within the Wallace Assortment © The Wallace Assortment
London’s Nationwide Military Museum owns an essential ceremonial bowl which stood outdoors the royal mausoleum. This was as soon as erroneously mentioned to have ben used to gather the blood of beheaded sacrificial victims, a mirrored image of British colonial attitudes within the nineteenth century.
Ceremonial brass bowl within the Nationwide Military Museum © Nationwide Military Museum
The Royal Regiment of Artillery is believed to personal an essential Asante gold ram’s head. It’s set on an elaborate stand, made in London in 1875, which incorporates three Atlantean figures of Africans.
When The Artwork Newspaper requested for additional info, we have been instructed that the regiment “don’t flow into particulars regarding their non-public property”.
Different Asante items are within the Burrell Assortment in Glasgow, Leeds Museum and the Pitt Rivers Museum on the College of Oxford.
In 1974, the centenary of the looting, the then Asante king, Opoku Ware II, requested for “the return of regalia and different gadgets faraway from our nation by British expeditionary forces in 1874, 1896 and 1900”. Though that declare was made almost 50 years in the past, it now seems doubtless that the V&A might be taking the daring step of main the best way in acceding to this request.
The V&A isn’t commenting additional, though an announcement is probably going later this yr.
A British Museum spokesperson says {that a} formal declare was obtained in 1974. Since then “there have been a number of spoken requests, most notably by the present Asantehene, in the course of the go to of the deputy director of the British Museum to Kumasi in 2010”. The spokesperson says that there’s “a cordial working relationship with the Asante Royal Courtroom by way of the Asantehene and the Manhyia Palace Museum committee”.
Discussions have been held with the Asantehene, with each events expressing the “ambition that objects from the British Museum assortment may journey on mortgage to the Kumasi museum”.
