London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Asante King asks British Museum to return gold to Ghana

Asante King asks British Museum to return gold to Ghana

The ruler of Ghana's Asante people has asked the British Museum to return gold items in its collection to his country.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, recently met the museum's director Dr Hartwig Fischer for discussions.

The museum's collection includes works taken from the Asante palace in Kumasi during the war with the British of 1874.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (pictured centre), recently met the British Museum's director


The British Museum told the BBC it is "exploring the possibility of lending items" to Ghana.

The Ghanaian ruler met Dr Fischer last week, after attending the Coronation of King Charles.

The British Museum has been under increasing pressure in recent years to return items in its collection to their countries of origin.

The demands by Greece for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures, often still known as the Elgin Marbles, are the most high-profile example in this contested debate.

They were removed by the diplomat and soldier Lord Elgin in the 19th Century and later bought by the British government and placed in the British Museum.

The Parthenon Sculptures were removed from Greece and put on display in London's British Museum in the 19th Century


Restitution issues more commonly apply to countries which experienced colonial conflict.

Ethiopia wants the British Museum to return ceremonial crosses, weapons, jewellery, sacred altar tablets and other items taken from Maqdala in the north of the country during British military action in 1868.

The Nigerian government has also formally asked the museum to return 900 Benin Bronzes.

These beautiful bronze and brass sculptures were created by specialist guilds working for the royal court of the Oba, or King, in Benin City from the 16th Century onwards.

Many were forcibly removed when the British captured the city in 1897.

Benin Bronzes were taken from the ancient city in Nigeria by the British army


Ghana's government has set up a Restitution Committee to look at the return of items taken from the Asante Palace which are now in collections around the world.

Nana Oforiatta Ayim, who sits on that committee, told the BBC: "These objects are largely sacred ones and their return is about more than just restitution. It is also about reparation and repair, for the places they were taken from, but also those who did the taking."

She added that they are looking for a new relationship "not based on exploitation or oppression, but on equity and mutual respect".

Last Thursday's discussions at the British Museum are the first ever meeting between the Asantehene and the museum's director Dr Fischer.

According to the British Museum, the Asantehene requested a loan of items of regalia belonging to his forbears.

The Asantehene visited London last week and met with King Charles before his coronation


In the 19th Century, the Asante state was one of few African states that offered serious resistance to European colonisers.

Its independence ended in 1874 when a British expeditionary force marched into Kumasi in retaliation for an Asante attack two years earlier.

A spokeswoman for the British Museum told the BBC: "Our director and deputy director were pleased to welcome His Royal Majesty Osei Tutu II (the Asantehene) to the museum during his visit to the UK for the Coronation of King Charles III."

This Asante gold neck torc was taken by the British in the 19th Century, and is at the British Museum


She added that the British Museum "is exploring the possibility of lending items from the collection to mark the 150th anniversary of the end of the third Anglo-Asante war, as well as to support celebrations for the Asantehene's Silver Jubilee next year".

For some Ghanaians however, loans can never be a long term solution.

Oforiatta Ayim, who is also a special adviser to Ghana's Culture Minister, said: "Loans can be a first step in that they can open up dialogue in the kind of institutions and structures that are slow to change.

"At the end of the day, objects like the ones taken in 1874 were taken under horrifically violent circumstances… There needs to be honesty, accountability and action".

She added that the objects' homes are "undeniably the places they were taken from" although could then be lent back to British institutions in future.

London's Horniman Museum returned 72 items in its collection to Nigerian ownership last year.

At the time, Nick Merriman, the Horniman Museum director, told the BBC there was a "moral argument" to return them. He said: "We're seeing a tipping point around not just restitution and repatriation, but museums acknowledging their colonial history".

But some of the UK's most renowned institutions, including the British Museum, are prevented by law from making a decision of this kind.

The British Museum Act of 1963 bans the museum from the "disposal of objects" except in very specific circumstances.

It is however free to loan items, if it believes the items won't be damaged.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×