UK agrees to long-term loan of stolen Ghanaian jewels

The UK is sending some of Ghana’s “crown jewels” back home 150 years after looting them from the court of the Asante king.

Return of 32 Items under Loan Deals

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum are set to return 32 stolen Ghanaian artefacts under long-term loan agreements. The items include a gold peace pipe and court regalia, considered equivalent to the “Crown Jewels” by the V&A. 

The return comes after generations of anger over the looting of cultural treasures during 19th-Century wars between the British and the Asante in Ghana.

Hope for Cultural Co-operation

Ghana’s chief negotiator expressed hope for “a new sense of cultural co-operation” as the artefacts are returned. 

National museums in the UK are prohibited by law from permanently giving back contested items, leading to loan deals as a compromise for the return of objects to their countries of origin. 

The agreement aims to foster cultural partnerships and exchanges without implying ownership acceptance by the UK.

Cultural Responsibility and Fair Sharing

Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, emphasized the museum’s responsibility to think about sharing objects fairly, especially those with origins in war and looting. 

He stated that building partnerships and exchanges with countries of origin is a way to address historical issues surrounding contested artefacts. 

However, Hunt clarified that the loan arrangement is not a form of restitution, denying the return of permanent ownership to Ghana.

Three-Year Loan Agreements

The three-year loan agreements, with an option to extend for a further three years, are made with Otumfo Osei Tutu II, the current Asante king, also known as the Asantehene. 

The items will be displayed at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of the Asante region, to celebrate the Asantehene’s silver jubilee. 

The Asante gold artefacts hold significant cultural and spiritual importance as symbols of the Asante royal government and the spirits of former Asante kings.