How did a 16th-century European basin end up as a sacred object in West Africa?

The Aya Kese, a massive 16th-century northern European brass basin, is currently on display at the British Museum while its complex history remains under scrutiny. Looted by British officer Robert Baden-Powell in 1896 from the Asante kingdom’s royal mausoleum in present-day Ghana, the object was long sensationalized by colonial accounts as a vessel for human sacrifice. Recent scholarship and historical records from Asante King Prempeh I contest these claims, asserting the basin’s sacred role as a spiritual repository for the souls of the Asante people.

In Lugano, there are 5 exhibitions dedicated to the Orient to discover around the city

A Lugano ci sono 5 mostre dedicate all’Oriente da scoprire in giro per la città

Five exhibitions dedicated to East Asian art are currently on view across Lugano, Switzerland. Four are housed in the city's two major museums, MASI and MUSEC, while the fifth is presented by Primo Marella Gallery. The shows feature a range of works, from historical Japanese kakemono scrolls and screens to contemporary art by Chinese artists Zhang Hong Mei and He Wei, and a survey of video art from South Korea.