African king, in all his finery, brings MFA exhibit to life
To walk into a room filled with members of a Ghanian royal entourage is to be blinded by the brilliance of their regalia. First there are the rings, enormous gold ones that are like miniature crowns, on the fingers of His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, king of the Asante people of Ghana, and his retinue. The yellows and greens of the multicolored kente cloths draped around them, with one end of the fabric thrown over their shoulders, also dazzle.
The king was at the Museum of Fine Arts yesterday as the guest of honor for the exhibition ''West African Gold: Akan Regalia From the Glassell Collection," which opens today. Much of the exhibit -- which features 100 traditional examples of royal dress and adornment, including jewelry, crowns, sandals, and swords -- looks similar to what the king is wearing, but some of the objects date to the 19th century. The exhibit, which is curated by Christraud Geary, the MFA's curator of African and Oceanic Art, runs through March 26 and is drawn from the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the most extensive collection of African gold in an American museum. Other items include examples of kente cloth acquired by Boston's MFA.
The king's visit, his first to Boston, is being organized in collaboration with Harvard University, where he'll give a private lecture later this week. Bostonians will have the rare opportunity to meet the king and his entourage tonight in a ceremony at the MFA.
The king, officially known as the Asantehene, and 15 of his palace officials met with the Globe yesterday at the MFA, after viewing the exhibition. Following protocol, the king did not speak to the reporter but let two of his advisers speak for him. They said the king felt that the exhibition is a ''bold attempt to bring African culture to American culture" and that his mission is an educational one.
''We welcome this opportunity because there are a lot of Africans in the diaspora, in Boston and other parts of the United States," said Nana Otuo Siribuoe, a paramount chief.
Nana Akuoko Sarpong, another paramount chief, said Americans usually see negative images of Africa. ''If you came to Ghana, you would have an entirely different picture of a stable society," he said. One of the reasons for that stability is that Ghana's government -- a constitutional democracy -- embraces the country's traditional institutions. Though the Asantehene is not a head of state, he is a ritual leader. The Asante are part of the Akan peoples, one of Ghana's largest ethnic groups.
The public ceremony begins tonight at 6. At 6:30, his majesty, accompanied by palace officials, will enter the museum through the Huntington Avenue doors. He'll proceed along a red carpet up the grand staircase to the Koch Gallery, accompanied by traditional Asante drumming, horn blowing, and dancing. He will sit in state for approximately 60 minutes and permit members of the community to pay their respects.
The Ghanian community, both local and national, is coming out in force for the Asantehene's visit, said MFA director Malcolm Rogers. The Greater Boston Ghana Association hosted a small reception for the king and his entourage at the Inn at Harvard Monday night.
The museum is advising those who wish to pay their respects to the Asantehene to wear either bright colors or black and white, in keeping with Asante traditions for celebrations. (Solid black, brown, red, or a combination of those three are reserved for somber occasions and mourning and should be avoided.) The protocol for greeting the king is to bow reverently and nod silently, but not to speak to or touch him, unless he initiates contact.
Rogers says that the king's visit has given his work at the museum a new meaning.
''This morning, I was there on the steps of the museum to welcome the king and his whole entourage," Rogers said. ''And what struck me is it's very nice to see the objects, the textiles, the gold objects that we have in the exhibition. But to see people, especially the king himself, who embodies the principal of majesty, wearing jewelry made by the same craftsmen or their descendants, brought the whole thing alive."
''It's a big lesson," he said, ''that objects in showcases look wonderful, but there's that dimension of life missing."
The Museum of Fine Arts presents ''West African Gold: Akan Regalia From the Glassell Collection" through March 26 . A free public reception for His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II of Ghana is tonight at 6 at the MFA. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org . 
