Keypoints:
- 130 artefacts returned to Asante kingdom
- Items from Britain, South Africa and Geneva
- Includes royal regalia and ceremonial objects
GHANA has welcomed back more than 130 gold and bronze artefacts looted from the Asante Kingdom during the colonial era, following their return from Britain and South Africa. The restitution marks a powerful step in restoring the country’s royal heritage.
The announcement was made by Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who received the items at a ceremony held at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi on Sunday. According to a royal statement, the artefacts — dating between 45 and 160 years old — include royal regalia, ceremonial drums and gold weights that once symbolised power, governance and spirituality in Asante society.
Major restitution effort spans continents
The Asantehene expressed deep appreciation to AngloGold Ashanti, the South African mining giant, for returning several artefacts purchased on the open market. The company previously handed back a separate batch of cultural items to Ghana in 2024.
This latest repatriation included 110 objects from the Barbier-Muller Museum collection in Geneva. The collection was originally assembled by Swiss collector Josef Muller in 1904 and contains some of the most valuable surviving pieces linked to Asante royal traditions.
British scholar’s gift adds historic depth
A further 25 artefacts were donated by British art historian Hermione Waterfield, who founded the Tribal Art Department at Christie’s auction house in 1971. Her contribution includes a rare wooden drum believed to have been seized during the 1900 siege of Kumasi, when British forces invaded the Asante capital.
Ivor Agyeman-Duah, art historian and director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, confirmed that Waterfield’s gift represents a personal act of reconciliation and recognition of the Asante Kingdom’s enduring cultural legacy.
Restoring history and dignity
In 2024, the Manhyia Palace Museum also received 67 restituted or loaned artefacts from major global institutions, including the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Fowler Museum in Los Angeles. Many of those pieces were returned after years of negotiation between Ghana and foreign museums.
The latest return deepens the growing global movement for the restitution of African heritage. For the Asante Kingdom, these treasures are not merely museum exhibits — they are living symbols of identity, history and pride.
As Otumfuo Osei Tutu II emphasised at the ceremony, each returned artefact represents ‘a homecoming of spirit and memory’ — a reclaiming of history long removed by the hands of empire.
