The first batch of seven objects looted during the third Anglo-Asante War of 1874 has been returned to Ghana, according to a CitiNews report.
The objects, arriving on a United Airlines flight, are set to be officially presented to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on February 8th during the commencement durbar marking the 150th anniversary of the war at Dwaberem, Manhyia Palace.
The delegation responsible for the official presentation is led by Dr. Silvia Forni, Director of the Fowler Museum at the University of California, Los Angeles, where the objects resided for nearly 60 years.
Other members of the delegation include Dr. Rachel Raynor, Director of Registration and Collections, Dr. Erica Jones, Curator of the Africa Department, and Professor Kwesi Ampene, Chair of the Music Department at Tufts University.
The returned objects were acquired by the Fowler Museum in 1965 from the Wellcome Trust, and discussions about their repatriation to the Manhyia Palace have been ongoing for several years. The repatriation has been facilitated by a change in University policy regarding looted items, allowing for their return to their original owners.
Historian Ivor Agyeman-Duah confirmed the return, announcing the development of a new form of cultural cooperation. This collaboration will involve the Fowler Museum and UCLA, the Manhyia Palace Museum, and the College of Art and Built Environment at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, as envisioned by the Asantehene, who also serves as Chancellor of the University.
The seven returned objects date back to the period before Asantehene Kofi Karkari in the 1840s and include an ornamental chair, large beads, a strand of seed or bug-shaped beads, gold of an elephant hair, a royal stool ornament, a royal necklace, and another royal stool ornament.