Source: newsthemegh.com
Public viewing of stolen artifacts from the Asante Kingdom by British colonists is now possible at the Manhyia Palace.
The public is encouraged to visit the Manhyia Palace Museum to view the artifacts, which Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II characterized as the restoration of the African continent’s united soul.
Under a three-year loan deal that is subject to renewal, the artifacts that the British removed 150 years ago from the Asante Kingdom have been returned.
The British Museum, the Asante Kingdom, and the Victoria & Albert Museum have an agreement.
The 32 artefacts that were returned include the state sword, a gold peace pipe, and various gold and silver jewelry.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II gave a speech during the display ceremony thanking the British Museum.
“The exhibition that we are witnessing today has been through negotiations from my predecessors, where Prempeh I, when he returned, requested for these artefacts to be brought back. My uncle Prempeh II also brought up that idea in 1948 and my brother Opoku Ware also came up with this idea again and then I come here standing in front of you to negotiate.
“When I travelled in May [2023], I brought the matter up again with the British Museum and through that, here we are with all these items being returned and the agreement is for us to keep it for three years and renew it for another three years.”