Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has received 130 historic gold and bronze artworks at Manhyia Palace in Kumasi, marking a significant restitution from South Africa and Britain of cultural objects created in the Asante Kingdom between the 1870s and early 20th century.
The artifacts, aged between 45 and 160 years old, reflect governance systems in villages and towns as well as the socioeconomic importance of gold in Asante society. The pieces include royal regalia, ceremonial drums, and gold weights that depict traditional governance structures, spiritual beliefs, and the central role of gold in Asante civilization.
Stuart Bailey, Chief Corporate Affairs and Sustainability Officer of AngloGold Ashanti, led a delegation that received the Asantehene’s gratitude during the presentation ceremony. Bailey was accompanied by Samuel Boakye Pobee, Managing Director of the Obuasi mine, and Edward Ennin, former Member of Parliament for Obuasi.
The Asantehene acknowledged that though AngloGold Ashanti purchased the objects at open markets, the company deemed it appropriate to return them to their original source. The 110 pieces from AngloGold Ashanti bring the total number of restituted objects in Kumasi to 140 from the original collection of the Barbier Muller Museum in Geneva, which was assembled through its founding collector, Josef Muller, starting in 1904.
An additional 25 objects were donated by Hermione Waterfield, an 86 year old British art historian and curator who joined the famous Christie’s auction house in London in 1961 and established the Tribal Art Department in 1971. Waterfield’s contribution represents decades of engagement with African art and her commitment to restitution.
Ivor Agyeman Duah, Historian and Director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, explained that Waterfield’s donation includes a 46 inch wooden fontomfrom drum that was part of the loot from the Palace by British Colonial Officer Sir Cecil Hamilton Armitage, who led the advance force in the siege of Kumasi in 1900 during what became known as the Yaa Asantewaa War. Armitage later became British Colonial Governor of The Gambia.
Waterfield inherited these drums and owned 14 other gold weights purchased between 1967 and 1973, including from Christie’s auctions. Agyeman Duah noted that the authority on the returned objects from South Africa, and indeed of metal or goldsmith arts in West Africa, was the late British art historian and archaeologist Timothy Garrard, who lived for periods in Kumasi, Accra, and Bouake in Ivory Coast.
Among Waterfield’s notable donations is the famous brass self portrait of Timothy Garrard on his motorbike in Kumasi, created by Yaw Amankwa in 1980. Agyeman Duah, who signed the deaccession papers with Waterfield in London last October, confirmed that other great works will be displayed at the palace museum, including pieces by renowned Ghanaian and African masters such as Ablade Glover, El Anatsui, Ato Delaquis, Nee Owoo, Anthony Kwame Akoto, Vincent Koffi, and Edwin Kwasi Bodjawah.
The restitution ceremony follows a pattern of successful returns to Manhyia Palace Museum, which has emerged as a leading institution in Africa’s cultural heritage recovery movement. The museum is preparing to open a large extension in early 2025 to display returned objects and host temporary exhibitions celebrating Asante way of life.
AngloGold Ashanti acquired the collection of 350 objects from the Barbier Muller Museum in 2000, showcasing some of the finest examples of West African goldsmithing. The objects were displayed in museums in Cape Town and Pretoria before their return to Kumasi. Museum Director Agyeman Duah has stated his commitment to recovering as many looted Asante artifacts as possible through cooperation with institutions worldwide.
The Asante Kingdom, which flourished from the 17th century, became a target of British colonial expansion in the 19th century, resulting in multiple conflicts that led to the looting of royal treasures. Many artifacts were seized during the Anglo Asante Wars, particularly following the British expedition of 1874 and the Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900.
