So far we have marshalled our curios under certain more or less convenient headings, but some of them refuse all attempts at classification; they are no less attractive on this account, however.
Were we to reserve a space for gruesome relics, the following exhibit, to be seen in the Royal United Service Museum, would certainly deserve mention. It is the King of Ashanti's execution bowl, which formed part of the spoils taken from Prempeh by the expedition under Colonel Sir Francis Scott in 1896. The bowl, which is of brass, resembles an ordinary bath-tub in appearance and size, and is about five feet in diameter. On the rim are four small lions and a number of knobs, evidently intended as an ornamentation, and would appear to be of Moorish origin. There is a gap in the continuity of knobs to allow a space for the victim to insert his neck preparatory to execution. The bowl was fully described by Bowdich in his account of Ashanti in 1817. Coomassie, where the bowl was taken, means the City of Death; it possessed three places of execution—one at the palace for private executions, one on the parade ground for public executions, and a third, named Bantama, where the bowl was found, for fetish sacrifices. Any great public occasion was seized upon as an excuse for human sacrifice, such as the harvest festival, at which large numbers of victims were offered.
The King also went every quarter to pay homage to the shade of his ancestors at Bantama, and on each occasion the death of twenty men over the great bowl was demanded. The blood of the victims was allowed to putrefy in the bowl, the leaves of certain herbs being added; it was considered a very valuable fetish medicine. King Prempeh was accustomed to watching the sacrifices seated in a chair with the Queen-Mother seated on a stool on his left, being sheltered from the sun by a large umbrella.[34]
[34] "Museum Catalogue," p. 49.
Before concluding this chapter on miscellaneous curios, it may be well to give a list of suggested objects, bearing on the Great War, which might be reasonably included in a collection of war mementoes and relics:—
Blue-books and similar official correspondence, both British and foreign. Copies of newspapers containing accounts of the outstanding incidents of the war. Photographs of the greater events, i.e. the
sinking of the Blücher. Recruiting posters. Posters describing hostile and friendly aircraft. Printed proclamations. Letters from soldiers at the front. War postage stamps, including the various Red Cross stamps. The King and Queen's Christmas card to the soldiers. Princess Mary's chocolate box. Various kinds of ammunition used by the Allies and the enemy. Aeroplane darts. Permits given to journalists to enter the various battle zones. Official stamps of the Press Censor. Cartoons from Punch. Paper money issued owing to the hostilities. Portions of uniforms, i.e. Prussian helmets, buttons and badges of British and foreign soldiers. Souvenirs made by interned soldiers. Toys constructed by Belgian refugees, and composite flags made by combining the devices of the various allies.
AN INTERESTING BROADSIDE PRINTED AT THE FAMOUS CATNACH PRESS, BEING ONE OF A SERIES DESCRIBING INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SOLDIER.