Looted from British-colonized
““We are here ... (because) the white man came into Asanteman to loot and destroy it,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu, the king of the Assante kingdom in Ghana’s largest city of Kumasi, said at a presentation ceremony that brought joy and relief to the kingdom.
After decades of resistance from European and Western governments and museums, the efforts of African countries to repatriate stolen artifacts are paying off with the increasing return of treasured pieces. Activists, though, say thousands more are still out of reach.
The royal items were first received by the kingdom on Monday, which marked the 150th anniversary of when British colonial forces sacked the
The repatriation of the artifacts to
All seven items are being returned unconditionally and permanently though the kingdom allowed their replicas to be made, the museum added.
“We are globally shifting away from the idea of museums as unquestionable repositories of art, as collecting institutions entitled to own and interpret art based primarily on scholarly expertise, to the idea of museums as custodians with ethical responsibility,” said
The items are seen as symbols of prestige and reverence for the
“Our forefathers and our fathers told us about the artifacts," Acheampong said. “And ever since, as a kid, I had the vision that one day we shall have all these artifacts back to our
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