3-065-860 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Ashantee war drums, 1874. Booty taken from the Aban Palace at Kumasi by the British during the Third Anglo-Ashanti War. The palace, royal residence of the Asantehene, was destroyed during the British invasion. Extract from 'Mr. Stanley's volume, "Coomassie [Kumasi] and Magdala": "The alcoves were littered with curious articles. One contained a large number of war-drums, stained with blood, and decorated with ghastly trophies of war and triumph, with human skulls".' Henry Morton Stanley was the journalist famous for his exploration of Central Africa and search for missionary David Livingstone. From "Illustrated London News", 1874.