Royal Artillery under fire after denying access to looted Asante treasure | Military
The Royal Artillery is facing criticism after it was revealed they had denied public access to an “extraordinary object” that the British army plundered from the Asante people in modern-day Ghana in the 19th century.
The gleaming golden ram’s head is seemingly worthy of any museum, but remains hidden in the chaos of the procession at Larkhill in Wiltshire.
The artefact was among the treasures looted by the British army from the sprawling former royal palace in Kumasi, the capital of Asante state, in 1874, before soldiers set fire to the city and blew up the palace. The British returned in 1896 and plundered the rebuilt palace. Their commander later recalled: “I had demonstrated the power of England.”
The spoils from the Anglo-Asante wars were sold and distributed among private and public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum. historic decision Returning 32 pieces of gold palace regalia to the Manhyia Palace Museum in Ghana – although they are on long-term loan.
The most impressive of the looted objects is probably the beautifully draped ram’s head with spiral horns, approximately 19 cm wide.
Among newspaper reports from 1874, the Maritime and Trade Gazette reported: “The best trophy is a ram’s head… It is very valuable.”
Former BBC correspondent Barnaby Phillips, who has reported from Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa for more than a decade, was researching his upcoming book when he was stunned when his request to see it was denied for security reasons.
He said: “This is an army facility where the spoils of war are kept, but they say it’s not safe to show it to me. It’s a bit ironic.”
He added: “The letter from the regimental secretary of the Royal Artillery was short and to the point. The regiment ‘failed to accept’ my request to see the Asante gold ram’s head kept in the officers’ dining room at their barracks at Larkhill… ‘It has long been our policy, primarily for reasons of security, not to allow public access to items held in the regiment’s private collection,’ the secretary wrote. He explained this was for insurance reasons.”
Ivor Agyeman-Duah, Kumasi-born historian, diplomat and Director of the Manhyia Palace MuseumAsante king Otumfuo Osei Tutu II asked him to help negotiate the return of the Asante regalia with British institutions.
“We are interested in negotiating with the Royal Artillery,” Agyeman-Duah said. “The next time I come to England I hope to go to the officer’s mess and write to them. This piece is an emblematic testament to Asante’s skill over more than two centuries.”
The Anglo-Asante wars ended in 1901 with the formal annexation of their territory to the British crown colony of the Gold Coast. These were partly due to British interest in the natural resources of West Africa; These interests caused resistance from the Asante people, who considered such golden objects to be imbued with the spirits of their ancestors. Britain’s campaign was further justified at that stage by its determination to end slavery.
Phillips believes the Royal Artillery may have been “embarrassed” by a stand commissioned for a battering ram in 1875; for this stand depicts three black boys in loincloths as if holding the object aloft, while its base is engraved with words commemorating the battles and the capture of the city.
He said: “The stand transformed the ram’s head into a trophy, cementing its ceremonial role in the officers’ mess. It is also, from a 21st century perspective, in surprisingly bad taste.”
He added that there was more embarrassment over another piece in the same mess. William Knox, the soldier who took the ram’s head, also plundered a magnificent silver cross from the church during the controversial military expedition to Abyssinia in 1868.
Phillips said: “Two of the most extraordinary objects plundered by the British army are in this confusion, and no one can see them except the invited guests of the procession.”
He argued that such important objects could at least be loaned to public museums rather than viewed by a select few.
Phillips’ latest research, featured in his upcoming book, includes: African Golden Kingdom: Britain and the Asante TreasureIt will be published next month.
He quotes an unnamed director of a major national museum who was allowed to visit the objects at Larkhill as telling him: “When you see these things and realize that no one else can see them and they will never leave this place, it’s like a punch in the gut.”
An army spokesman said: “Although we do not comment on individual cases, access to military areas is controlled for security, operational and safety reasons.”
