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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is such a shock. Mark was a legend in Africa. He had huge respect and empathy for the people he reported on. He'll be missed across the continent, but perhaps especially in Sierra Leone www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Veteran BBC Africa correspondent Mark Doyle dies

Doyle was best known for reporting on African conflicts in the 1990s and 2000s, notably in Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Very excited to go back to Lagos for this. Should be a cracker

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

In 2024 the BM & V&A returned looted treasures to Asante, Ghana, albeit on loan. I'm talking with the director of the Asantehene museum and ex-BM curator who crafted this historic deal. Tues Sept 15th, National Liberal Club, Whitehall. 6pm. Free, must register members.nlc.org.uk/web/pages/ev....

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Hyperallergic @hyperallergic.com · 20/08/2026

In the book “The African Kingdom of Gold,” Barnaby Phillips explores how British colonial forces plundered the Asante people and expertly traces the stolen artifacts’ afterlives in museum storage.

hyperallergic.com

Why Won’t Britain Return Looted Gold to Ghana?

In “The African Kingdom of Gold,” Barnaby Phillips explores how British colonial forces plundered the Asante people and expertly traces the stolen artifacts’ afterlives in museum storage.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Delighted, a little amazed, to be on the list for such a prestigious prize, alongside such fantastic books from around the world. 'The world's leading prize for a work of history written or translated into English.' www.cundillprize.com/news/the-202...

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

'This enthralling book outlines the long, complex and still contested history of the looted objects as it traces the extraordinary consequences of British imperial larceny.' Thank you African Business Magazine! african.business/2026/07/arts...

african.business

Book review: African treasures, British loot - African Business

Stephen Williams is enthralled by this account of how the British empire looted Asante treasure - and how some of it has been returned.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

The looting of Kumasi 1874 & 1896. The British Museum & V&A have now returned some gold treasures to Ghana, albeit on loan. A unique chance to hear from the 2 men who negotiated this extraordinary deal, at the NLC 15/9/26. Book here⬇️ members.nlc.org.uk/web/pages/ev...

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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 07/07/2026

‘People with a background in investigative journalism should be employed to do provenance research more often.’ Samuel Reilly admires a new book that meticulously traces the histories of the royal treasures Britain took from the Asante kingdom in the 19th century

buff.ly

In search of Ghana’s looted Asante gold

Barnaby Phillips‘s new book following the twists and turns of the royal treasures Britain took from the Asante kingdom is a tour de force of provenance research, writes Samuel Reilly

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I'm talking about the British in Africa, colonial loot, and Asante at the @chalkefestival.bsky.social near Salisbury Friday 26th June 18.45 with @afuahirsch.bsky.social & Lindsey Hilsum. Do join us - in fact the whole festival has an incredible range of events www.chalkefestival.com

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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I suggest that this guy goes and tells the violent racist rioters to their faces that 'all they want to be is Irish'

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Everyone interested in #Nigeria should see this film. June 12th! www.sheffdocfest.com/film/mko

sheffdocfest.com

MKO | Sheffield DocFest

no synopsis available

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

A wonderful retrospective of the art of Phyllis Bray (1911-1991), my grandmother, in Hackney until June 21st. 'a rare opportunity to reassess the breadth of her practice and her lasting impact on twentieth-century British painting.' www.batsfordgallery.com/whats-on-1/p...

batsfordgallery.com

Phyllis Bray: Myth & Nature — The Batsford Gallery

Batsford Gallery is delighted to announce Phyllis Bray: Myth & Nature , the UK’s first comprehensive retrospective exhibition of Phyllis Bray (1911–1991), a significant figure in modern British a...

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

'The African Kingdom of Gold stands as an important contribution to scholarship on empire, cultural heritage, and historical justice..... making a compelling case for confronting the past with clarity, honesty, and rigorous research' .Thank you Black Wall St Media! blackwallst.media/afterlives-o...

blackwallst.media

Afterlives of Looted Heritage - Black Wall St Media

Barnaby Phillips’s The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante Treasure is a timely exploration of empire, cultural loss, and restitution. Combining meticulous research with compelling storyte...

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

That was painful but not the despair of '06. A young team, a wonderful manager, the future is ours. Proud of these players and I felt lucky to be there #COYG

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Arsenal season ticket holders- don't give up on the official UEFA resale site for Budapest. I failed in the ballot...checked the site forlornly/sporadically for a few days, and suddenly a Euro 70 ticket popped up!

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Thrilled to be at the Notting Hill Festival this Saturday. Do come along !

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Arsenal. History beckons. Gyökeres a lion tonight.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

'In his final days he received a rarely-presented medal from the museum in recognition of what its director called his "very significant contribution".' www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Ittai Gradel: Antiquities dealer who exposed British Museum thefts dies aged 61

Dr Ittai Gradel made global headlines after exposing the thefts of many artefacts from the British Museum.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

About half a million Africans signed up for the British army in the 2nd WW. This history matters more than ever. My lunchtime lecture, - 'African Soldiers and WW2' - City Lit, central London, May 15th (photos-recruitment, training, northern Nigeria) www.citylit.ac.uk/lunchtime-le...

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Grateful for this lovely review in The Voice Magazine. 'A clear view of how the legacy of British imperialism continues to shape what is held, displayed, and contested today.' www.voicemag.uk/review/16416...

voicemag.uk

Book Review: The African Kingdom of Gold by Barnaby Phillips

Barnaby Phillips’ The African Kingdom of Gold traces what happened to Asante gold after it was taken by British forces. 

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

The Fowler Museum in California wants to return looted skulls to Ghana. The ethics - and politics - are not always as straightforward as you might assume. @theartnewspaper.bsky.social has picked up one of the scoops in my book. www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/04/20/d...

theartnewspaper.com

Drum and trumpet with human skulls attached complicate plan for restitution from Los Angeles to Ghana

Two West African musical instruments at the Fowler Museum were looted by British troops in the late 19th century

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

“Perched on top of a ladder in a chilly warehouse next to the A1 [road], I was struck by an overwhelming sense of absurdity. What on earth was the Aya Kese doing here? It meant so much to the Asante, and so little to Britain.” www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/04/17/h...

theartnewspaper.com

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

Mystery surrounds where the ‘Aya Kese’ was made and how it reached the West African kingdom of the Asante centuries ago

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

A wonderful review in the @thetls.bsky.social 'painful detail...raw and intimate...meticulous research' ; the story of how the British looted the gold regalia from the Asante kingdom. www.the-tls.com/politics-soc...

the-tls.com

Imperial loot and the prospect of its return

The African Kingdom of Gold: Britain and the Asante treasure begins in 2024, as thirty-two objects looted by the British from the Asantehene’s palace in

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Reposted by Barnaby Phillips

Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

An estimated two-thirds of the world’s gold in the late Middle Ages may have come from West Africa. www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-gold-t...

africanhistoryextra.com

The Gold Trade and Currency of Medieval West Africa (1000-1900 CE)

An estimated two-thirds of the world’s gold in the late Middle Ages may have come from West Africa.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Big news in the restitution/museum world. Nine long years after 'that' Macron speech in Ouagadougou, France has passed a new framework law for the deaccessioning of colonial cultural loot. www.theartnewspaper.com/2026/04/14/f...

theartnewspaper.com

France’s new restitution law passes final vote

Procedures for returning objects will be “strictly supervised” and the law applies only to items illegally taken between June 1815 and April 1972

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

The inaugural Notting Hill Literary Festival! I'll be talking to Gus Casely-Hayford, on empire, loot, West Africa, museums & much more. Saturday 16th May 3pm, do join us. nottinghilllitfest.com

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Rory Carroll @rorycarroll72.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Finally! Been waiting for this. The Kingdom of African Gold - the forgotten history of Britain and Asante gold. A @barnabyphillips.bsky.social sequel to the excellent Loot.

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Oliver Bullough @oliverbullough.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I reviewed Rory Carroll's A Rebel and a Traitor for the Guardian. It's fascinating, and I'd recommend it. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/m...

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The Art Newspaper @theartnewspaper.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

The city of Zurich, which owns the Rietberg museum, has announced that 11 objects in its permanent collection are being transferred to the Republic of Nigeria, represented by the National Commission for Museums and Monuments. buff.ly/JSfNy4I

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Very painful. Saliba and Caliafori the only ones who remotely did justice to themselves #COYG

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

The Wallace Collection has some of the finest Asante gold regalia in the world -bought by Richard Wallace in 1874 when the Kumasi plunder was sold to the British aristocracy. So I'm delighted to see 'The African Kingdom of Gold' in its giftshop. (Apologies back-lit -sun makes rare London appearance)

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

Sunday stroll, Abney Park cemetery, London, grave of Henry Richard MP 'Apostle of Peace', critic of British imperial wars in Africa, Asia. 'These were not triumphs of Christian civilization, but of barbarism and brute force' he said after Wolseley's invasion of Asante.

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Reposted by Barnaby Phillips

Rory Carroll @rorycarroll72.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Having loved Barnaby's Loot, about the Benin bronzes, can't wait to read this.

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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 05/03/2026

‘Maybe, to be charitable, we forget how unconnected we all were before the internet.’ Barnaby Phillips on thefts at the British Museum, back in the 1990s

buff.ly

Why thefts at the British Museum are nothing new

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

'This magnificent book...engagingly blends African history with a current relevance that reaches far beyond the continent.’ @thespectator1828.bsky.social on my book 'The African Kingdom of Gold', out this week. spectator.com/article/the-...

spectator.com

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

My new book is released tomorrow. But I found it already on sale in the British Library, so signed some copies. A glowing review in today's Oldie magazine- a 'vividly narrated, judiciously presented' account of Anglo-Asante war and plunder.

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Barnaby Phillips @barnabyphillips.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

My new book is released tomorrow! But I found it already on sale at the British Library, so signed some copies. A review in today's Oldie Magazine says it is 'vividly narrated, judiciously presented'.

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Apollo @apollo-magazine.com · 02/03/2026

From a gold disc from the Asante Kingdom to hundreds of mostly 18th-century prints, Barnaby Phillips uncovers embarrassing security lapses in the British Museum’s recent past

buff.ly

Why thefts at the British Museum are nothing new

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