Asanteman is set to receive a significant addition to its cultural heritage as 28 gold ornaments and regalia, dating back to the 19th century, are being returned to the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
These items, crafted by royal artisans of the Asante Court, will be officially presented at a mini durbar at the Manhyia Palace this weekend.
The event coincides with the centenary celebration of the return from exile of Otumfuo’s grand-uncle, Nana Agyeman Prempeh I, and will honor the visit of His Excellency Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Republic of Seychelles.
The gold ornaments and regalia were originally part of the African Gold Collection owned by AngloGold Ashanti, which were housed at the Gold of Africa Museum in Cape Town before being moved to the Javett Art Centre at the University of Pretoria. Earlier this year, the Asantehene’s direct intervention led to an agreement for their deaccession.
Following the issuance of an export permit by the Reserve Bank of South Africa three weeks ago, the items were approved for repatriation to Kumasi.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah, historian and Associate Director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, coordinated the authentication and acquisition process alongside Edward Michael Ennin, a member of the Ghana Board of AngloGold Ashanti and former MP for Obuasi.
Agyeman-Duah described the objects as consisting of linguist staffs, swords, palace security locks, regalia such as rings and necklaces, proverbial gold weights, and gold sandals, all of which reflect Asante court governance and chieftaincy structures.
“These objects will be housed in a new contemporary art gallery recently added to the Manhyia Palace Museum by the Asantehene,” Agyeman-Duah revealed.
The AngloGold Ashanti delegation, led by Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs Officer Stewart Bailey, will include Baso Sangou, Senior Vice President of Group Sustainability; Eric Asuoboteng, Senior Vice President Africa Non-Operated Venture; and Aviona Mabaso, Legal Resource for Corporate Affairs.
The objects have a storied history. Produced over a century ago, they were acquired in 1922 by Joseph Mueller, a Swiss collector of West African art, and became part of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. In 2000, AngloGold Ashanti purchased the Barbier-Mueller Collection, showcasing 350 objects of West African goldsmithery, and integrated it with their Gold of Africa Museum in Cape Town.
The return of these items is being hailed as a major cultural milestone. Lekgetho Mokola, a Yale University Director’s Forum Fellow and former Director of the Javett Art Centre, emphasized the importance of this restitution.
“Africa is now taking the lead in restitution within its territories to deal with its colonial legacies. Possibly the rest of the restitution work beyond our borders will increase in pace to return what belongs to the people of this continent,” Mokola said.
This latest repatriation brings the total number of restituted and loaned cultural objects received by the Palace this year to 67—the highest such deaccession within Africa in recent times.
Earlier in the year, the Fowler Museum at UCLA repatriated seven objects looted during the 1874 Anglo-Asante War, followed by 32 items returned from the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in March.