GNA, Kumasi, Nov. 24 At a lavish durbar held at Kumasi's Manhyia Palace, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asantehene, received 28 gold artifacts that had been seized during the Sagrenti War. This was one of the events held to commemorate King Prempeh I's return from exile on its 100th anniversary. The ornaments were given to the King of Asante by a representative of AngloGold Ashanti, who had bought them from a West African art collector in 1922. This brought the total number of Asante artifacts returned from British looting in the 1900s to 67.
South African symbolic items include swords, linguist staff, proverbial gold-weights that show crocodiles and gold scandals, rings, necklaces, and palace security locks. At the Durbar, Mr. Stewart Bailey, AngloGold Ashanti's Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Senior Vice President Group Sustainability Ambassador Baso Sangqu, and The Manhyia Palace Museum's director, Dr. Ivor Agyemang-Duah, stated that information regarding the storage of certain Asante antiques at the University of Pretoria's Javett Art Centre led to the decision to approach the mining company for the items.
AngloGold Ashanti's Chief Sustainability and Corporate Affairs, Mr. Stewart Bailey, expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to assist in restoring the relics to their proper location. Being involved in the endeavor to move the treasures to Kumasi, where they were made, is a great honor for me personally. "We feel incredibly honored to be a part of this historic moment to make sure that these cultural treasures are available to Ghanaians in general as well as the Ashanti people," he said. The Manhyia Palace Museum will now display the artifacts.
Those present included the Asante paramount chiefs, H.E. Wavel Ramkalawan, the president of Seychelles, H.E. Linda Ramkalawan, the first lady of Seychelles, Russell Mmiso Dlamini, the prime minister of Eswatini,