King of Asante steps up demands to keep gold from British Musuem in Ghana
A Ghanaian king is demanding the repatriation of artefacts taken from his people by British soldiers in the 1800s.
The King of the Asante people in Ghana has demanded his nation keep treasures loaned to him by the British Museum and the V&A.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, ruler of the Asante people in Ghana, negotiated the temporary repatriation of ancestral artefacts in a historic deal with the UK museums.
Artefacts were handed over to the Ghanaian people last week as part of a three-year loan.
The king now wants to avoid returning the Asante gold. He is hopeful a future Labour government will lift the ban on repatriating artefacts. The Tories have already ruled out doing so, making Labour the best chance for the legal change he needs to retain the artefacts.
British Museum and V&A bosses were in the Asante capital of Kumasi on May 1 to celebrate the handover of the treasures to the King.
The 32 items loaned are pieces of royal regalia taken by British forces in the 19th century, including a golden sword used to swear in tribal chieftains and gold pendants worn by attendants who ritually purify the Asante king’s soul.
V&A director, Tristram Hunt, said he supported a change to repatriation laws and Asante courtiers believe that the three-year loan period may be long enough to allow the changes to be enacted.
Oheneba Owusu Afriyie IV, the prince and member of the Asante inner court, told the Telegraph: “We are hoping that after the two three-year terms, things would have evolved, and your laws back home might have changed. We are very hopeful. Things are evolving to eventually getting them back home.”
The Conservative government has refused to amend legal constraints on repatriating museum artefacts, but Labour has not set out a policy position ahead of the general election.
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The British Museum Act 1963 bars the institution from handing over any items from its collection and the National Heritage Act 1983 places the same constraints on the V&A.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah, the writer, academic, and director of the Asante King’s museum within the Manhyia Palace complex in Kumasi, confirmed that the permanent return of Asante artefacts from British collections is the end goal and “how it has been envisaged”, and that spiritually significant treasures remaining with the king “is as it should be”.
Mr Hunt, a former Labour MP, attended the handover ceremony in Kumasi where he told The Telegraph that a permanent return was possible.
He said: “Initially it’s a three-year loan, maybe renewable in future, but then we could see a situation whereby the 1963 Act or the 1983 Act was reformed in future.
“My view is that those acts should be reformed and trustees should have responsibility for what is in their collection. But that’s not where the Government is at the moment, and we have to respect that.”
