The United Kingdom has returned dozens of artifacts looted from what is now Ghana – more than 150 years after they were abducted.
Some 32 gold and silver items were sent to the country on long-term loans from the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and the British Museum.
They were stolen from the court of the Asante king, known as the Asantehene, during conflicts between the British and the powerful Asante people in the 19th century.
The items are expected to be returned to the reigning king on Friday.
His chief negotiator Ivor Agyeman-Duah told the BBC that the objects were currently in “safe hands” in Ghana before being officially received.
They are scheduled to go on display next month at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of the current Asante King Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
In January, the BBC reported that long-term loan agreements had been agreed to return the items.
The returned artifacts include a gold peace pipe, a state sword, and gold badges worn by officials tasked with purifying the king’s soul.
The gold artifacts are the ultimate symbol of Asante royal government and are believed to be endowed with the spirits of former Asante kings.
Nana Oforiatta Ayim, special adviser to Ghana’s culture minister, previously told the BBC that the objects were “part of the soul of the nation” and that they were “recurring parts of ourselves.”
The loan, which was negotiated with the king and not the Ghanaian government, has a term of three years with the option of an extension for a further three years.
The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) is lending 17 pieces and 15 are from the British Museum.
Both museums said they were pleased to be able to return the loans as part of an important cultural collaboration.
Some national museums in the UK – including the V&A and the British Museum – are prohibited by law from permanently returning controversial objects from their collections, and loan deals such as this are seen as a way to enable the return of objects to their countries of origin.
The return of Asante items comes a month before the silver jubilee celebrations of the Asantehene.
The Asante people built what was once one of the most powerful and impressive states in West Africa – they traded in gold, textiles and enslaved people, among other things.
The kingdom was famous for its military power and wealth. Even today, when the Asantehene shakes hands on official occasions, he can be so burdened with heavy gold bracelets that he sometimes has an assistant whose job it is to support his arm.
Europeans were drawn to the coast, which they later called the Gold Coast, because of stories of African wealth, and Britain fought repeated battles with the Asante in the 19th century.
In 1874, following an Asante attack, British troops launched a “punitive expedition,” as it was called in the colonial language of the time, and plundered Kumasi, taking with them many of the palace treasures.
Most of the items returned by the V&A were purchased at an auction on April 18, 1874 at Garrards, the London jeweler that manages Britain’s Crown Jewels, while some of the items on loan from the British Museum were looted during a later conflict in 1895–96 became.
The return of the artifacts comes amid ongoing debate over what to do with other items exported from their homelands – including the Benin bronzes and Elgin marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures.
Some countries claiming ownership of controversial artefacts fear that loans could be used to create the impression that they accept UK ownership.
However, others see this type of agreement as a way for Britain to engage with the cultural legacy of its colonial past while building better relationships for the future.