Asante sacred gold: Wallace Collection to exhibit historic regalia in London in 2027

The Wallace Collection in London will host a free display of sacred Asante gold regalia from April 12 to August 22, 2027, allowing the public to explore the spiritual, cultural, and artistic significance of these historic objects.

Titled “Asante Sacred Gold,” the exhibition will be held at Hayford House in Central London and will feature a collection of 18 gold regalia linked to the Asante Kingdom.

The objects were taken as part of an indemnity imposed on the Asante Kingdom by British forces during the Third Anglo-Asante War of 1873–1874.

They were later sold to Garrard & Co., the Crown Jeweller in London, before being acquired by European collectors, including Sir Richard Wallace.

The display will examine the deeper meaning of the regalia, which served not only as symbols of wealth and authority but also as important markers of Asante’s identity and belonging.

The objects incorporate human, animal, and geometric forms influenced by Akan, Islamic, and European designs, with a striking golden head serving as the centerpiece.

Curator of Decorative Arts and co-curator Alexander Collins said the exhibition would present the objects within their full cultural context while acknowledging their connection to colonial conflict and displacement.

“These objects also bear witness to a painful history of colonial conflict and displacement,” he said.

The exhibition has been produced by the Wallace Collection in collaboration with the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi.

Director of the Manhyia Palace Museum, Ivor Agyeman Duah, described the regalia as “signposts of a civilization.”

He said that “displaying them more than a century after their removal demonstrates their endurance while raising questions about their continued absence from their original home”.

Wallace Collection Director Dr Xavier Bray said the collaboration places “the histories and perspectives of the Asante people at the centre” of how the objects are understood.

Source: Ghana/otecfmghana.com/Francis Appiah