The objects had left Kumasi in the hands of British soldiers. In 2024, after nearly 150 years, they were back. Gold ornaments, regalia and silver items once belonging to the Asante royal court went on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum, loaned by two of Britain’s biggest museums. Crowds came to see them, and many wept. For the Asante, it was a homecoming, though not yet a permanent one.
The loot and the loan
Many of the objects were taken during the Anglo-Asante war of 1874, known in Ghana as the Sagrenti War, when British forces sacked Kumasi. Others were taken around 1896, when Asantehene Prempeh I was exiled. The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum lent 32 items to the Manhyia Palace Museum in 2024. British law restricts these museums from permanently giving away items in their collections.
The return coincided with celebrations marking 25 years of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s reign as Asantehene.
The objects and the debate
The items include gold badges, ornaments and regalia used in royal ceremonies. Earlier in 2024, the Fowler Museum at UCLA returned several Asante objects to the Asantehene. Critics noted that a loan is not the same as restitution, and called for permanent return. Others welcomed it as an important step. The Asantehene led negotiations directly with the museums.
Many Ghanaians visited the exhibition, and the event drew wide media coverage. The loan is part of a global debate about returning artefacts taken during colonial rule, including Benin Bronzes and objects from Dahomey. The loans are for an initial period that can be renewed.
Significance and the exhibition
The objects are part of Asante royal heritage and identity as well as works of art. In 1874, British troops under Sir Garnet Wolseley, whose name Ghanaians turned into “Sagrenti”, entered Kumasi, looted the royal palace and set parts of the city on fire. Many objects taken then were sold at auction in London and ended up in museum collections.
The Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi is open to the public, and the loaned objects became one of its main attractions. The gold left Kumasi as war loot. It came back as a loan, displayed a short walk from the palace it was taken from.
