British Museum Renews Loan Of 15 Asante Royal Regalia Pieces For Three More Years
The loan of 15 pieces of Asante royal regalia from the British Museum to the Manhyia Palace Museum will be renewed for a further three years at the end of the current term in April 2027.
The renewal was announced following a visit to Kumasi by the Director of the British Museum, Dr Nicholas Cullinan OBE, after an invitation by His Royal Majesty the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
The gold regalia associated with the Asante royal court is currently on display in the Homecoming exhibition at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, where it has enabled many of the items to be seen in Ghana for the first time in 150 years.
The loan includes a small gold ornament in the form of a lute-harp, known as sankuo.
The ornament was one of the cast gold objects presented in 1817 to British diplomat Thomas Bowdich during his trip to Kumasi to negotiate a trade treaty with the Asantehene Osei Bonsu.
According to Bowdich, they were intended by the Asantehene as gifts for the British Museum and served as a means of representing the wealth and status of the Asante nation.
The inclusion of the sankuo highlights the long-term connections between the British Museum and the Asantehene, now nearly 200 years old.
Other objects in the loan include items of regalia associated with two of the 19th century Anglo-Asante wars of 1873- 1874 and 1895-1896, much of which was looted directly from the palace in Kumasi and most of which formed part of the regalia of respective Asantehenes, Kofi Karikari and Prempeh I.
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London, which also loaned 17 objects associated with the Asante Royal Court, will also renew its loan agreement with the Manhyia Palace Museum as part of its Renewable Cultural Partnership.
The Asantehene highlighted the importance of the loans for local children to see and be inspired by the craftsmanship of the artefacts as they learn about this period of their history.
He also stressed the value of the partnership in enriching cultural understanding and offering mutual benefit to both institutions. Over the past two years overall visitor figures have doubled with visits by school children almost quadrupling.
Dr Cullinan said the partnership was about more than the sharing of objects, explaining that it was about building relationships, exchanging knowledge and creating opportunities for research and interpretation.
He expressed gratitude to the Asantehene and colleagues at the Manhyia Palace Museum for their continued collaboration.
Story by Hajara Fuseini
Click to read more: https://opemsuo.com/author/hajara-fuseini/
