The Royal Artillery is facing criticism after it emerged they are refusing public access to an “extraordinary object” looted by the British army in the 19th century from the Asante people in modern-day Ghana. The glistening golden ram’s head would seemingly be worthy of any museum, but it remains hidden within the regiment’s mess at Larkhill in Wiltshire. The artefact is among treasures pillaged by the British army from the sprawling old royal palace in the Asante state capital, Kumasi, in 1874, before soldiers set fire to the city and blew up the palace. The British returned in 1896 and looted the rebuilt palace. Their commander later recalled: “I had shown the power of England.” The spoils of the Anglo-Asante wars were sold and dispersed among private and public collections, including...