In a landmark act of restitution, Ghana’s ‘crown jewels’ are going home. Exactly 150 years after they were plundered by a British military expedition, more than 30 exquisite pieces of Asante gold held by the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum are being returned. They will go on display in a museum in Kumasi, the capital of Ghana’s Asante region.
Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty
Museums in the West are stuffed full of artefacts that were seized, looted or sold under duress. If it wasn’t for the legacy of the Empire, some of Britain’s main museums would be bare. Tristram Hunt, the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, says the British military ransacking of Kumasi in 1874, during which the gold was taken, ‘stands as one of the most infamous episodes in the history of British colonial plunder’.
The decision to send some of the gold back to Ghana, Hunt insists, ‘is not about reparative justice for the colonial past’ but that’s how many around the world may see it. And it will fuel the debate about how much of the spoils of the Empire and war should be given back: the Elgin marbles, part of the Parthenon sculptures, could soon be on display in Athens; some Benin bronzes in British museums are being returned to Nigeria; should all museum items acquired in questionable circumstances be sent back to the country of origin?
Sad to say, loot and plunder have been part of military conquest across the world and through the centuries. The word ‘loot’ is derived from Hindi and, it seems, developed during the early part of British military expansion in India. While deriving booty from war is ages old, Western imperialism brought plunder – of wealth, fine arts, sacred items and cultural heirlooms – to a new level.
Garnet Wolseley, the British general who led the punitive expedition against the Asante king, had form when it came to serving the Empire. In his 20s, he fought at Lucknow during the 1857 Rebellion – and was contemptuous of the people the British colonised. His burning of Kumasi and seizing of the Asante gold was seen in Britain at the time as an act of heroism: he was promoted, received the formal thanks of both houses of Parliament and was awarded a grant of £25,000 (a staggering amount and the equivalent today of £3.5 million or Rs 35 crore).
The gold items seized, and now being returned, include a sword of state and a ceremonial pipe, as well as badges worn by members of the ruler’s entourage responsible for ‘washing’ the soul of the king. There were not simply exceptional pieces of craftsmanship, but items which represented the authority of the ruler – the Asantehene.
Tristram Hunt has described the items as the Asante equivalent of Britain’s crown jewels and believes their return represents ‘a new spirit of partnership and cultural exchange’. Nana Oforiatta Ayim, a Ghanaian cultural expert, said it’s ‘a sign of some kind of healing and commemoration for the violence that happened’.
The agreement about the return has been made not with the Ghanaian government but with the current Asantehene, Otumfo Osei Tutu II, and the gold will be displayed at the palace museum in Kumasi. But the items are not simply being handed back to the Asante royal family. They are being given , initially of three years. This has angered many heritage experts in Africa, who say it’s disgraceful that Britain should lend back items its army looted rather than making an act of unqualified restitution.
The museum directors in London are constrained by legislation which outlaws the big museums from giving away or selling any of their principal holdings. That law could be changed, of course, but there is no early prospect of new legislation.
Some British commentators justify the plunder on display in British museum by arguing that it is kept well, properly conserved and can be seen by millions of visitors from around the world who come to London every year. But the tide is running in the opposite direction. It’s likely that many more heritage items will return home to be displayed in the countries, and amid the cultures, in which they were created.
But just in case you are wondering, don’t expect the Koh-i-Noor to be heading back. It’s not simply that this spectacular diamond is now part of Britain’s crown jewels, nor that there’s no real clarity about whether Britain stole the stone. There are three nations – Pakistan and Afghanistan and India – that claim the Koh-i-Noor, so the diplomatic complications of any restitution would be too daunting.
Andrew Whitehead is an honorary professor at the University of Nottingham in the UK and a former BBC India correspondent.
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