For years, South Africa's apartheid government ignored the significance of a "golden rhino" figurine that provides undeniable proof of a sophisticated society existing before white men arrived.
But since the end of apartheid rule in 1994, the stunning object -- just 15 millimetres (six inches) long and more than 700 years old -- has become a defining symbol of precolonial civilisation in South Africa.
Described as southern Africa's equivalent of Tutankhamun's mask, the golden foil rhino could be displayed overseas for the first time in the British Museum at an exhibition of South African art late next year.
With more than six million visitors passing through the London museum's doors annually, it would make a dramatic world debut for the rhino, which is currently in a little-known gallery at the University of Pretoria.
The question is whether or not the South African government will sign off on the loan. ...
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