In a long-term loan agreement, two British museums are giving gold and silver artifacts back to Ghana, 150 years after the treasures were taken from the Asante people during Britain’s colonial conflicts in West Africa. The Manhyia Palace Museum in Ghana, the British Museum, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London announced the “important cultural” partnership on Thursday. This cooperation circumvents UK rules that forbid returning cultural assets to their countries of origin. The British Museum has been unable to repatriate the Parthenon Marbles, sometimes referred to as the Elgin Marbles, to Greece due to these rules. The lending arrangement involves about 17 artifacts in all, including 13 pieces of Asante royal regalia that the V&A bought at auction in 1874.
(AP)
