By Andrew Heavens, author of "The Prince and the Plunder", about how Britain took piles of loot and one small boy from Ethiopia. Interested in all things pillaged, and in Bob, and in skiffle. Champion of Wiggle Wiggle on Pod Dylan.https://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mzhqsmpeec2bLOOT OF THE DAY Gilded bronze Buddha figure, 16th/17th century By repute, from the private Oxford collector, this came back from the Younghusband "expedition" to Tibet in 1903/1904. On sale in Cheltenham. Yours for c £300 - https://www.mallams.co.uk/auction/lot/lot-402---gilded-bronze-buddha-figure-sino-tibetan/?lot=225128&so=0&st=younghusband&sto=0&au=631&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=48&pn=1&g=104 Nov 2026 06:43 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mzhqsmpeec2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mypnfssqac2wOff topic. But great writing by Andrew Hankinson in today's @theobserveruk.bsky.social: "He's not stupid. He is massive." https://observer.co.uk/style/features/article/the-gloves-are-off-the-rise-of-bareknuckle-boxing25 Oct 2026 16:38 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mypnfssqac2whttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mypkxf6e322wMore than 1mn antiquities returned, loot database shows "The countries with the best record in reclaiming items tend to have sustained government engagement, specialist law enforcement units for cultural property and active civil society groups." https://www.ft.com/content/82f2922f-8c73-4e00-9a71-7682a2c9af1a?syn-25a6b1a6=1 by @joshspero.ft.com25 Oct 2026 15:54 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mypkxf6e322whttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mwedzynvos2b🧵1/3 - The deepest dive so far into the story of the looted Ethiopian gospel, by Jacopo Gnisci in @theconversation.com https://theconversation.com/this-18th-century-gospel-has-reignited-a-fierce-battle-over-ethiopias-looted-heritage-292625 Takeaway 1: It is the 2nd of a 2-volume set. The 1st is probably in the Bavarian state library - another piece of the Maqdala plunder...25 Sep 2026 18:01 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwedzynvos2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mvwsx6h7hk2y🧵1/4 - The story of the looted Ethiopian gospels has moved on, with the dealer pulling them from sale, but standing firm on his right to sell them. (Lily Isaac's article may be behind a paywall for some, but consider subscribing. @ObserverUK is fab.) https://observer.co.uk/news/national/article/dealer-in-rare-books-defiant-after-suffragettes-grandson-stops-sale-of-looted-ethiopian-bible20 Sep 2026 08:50 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvwsx6h7hk2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mvv724ccwc2e🧵1/4 - It’s a sign of how much was looted from Ethiopia in 1868 that new treasures keep turning up almost 160 years later. Look at this lavishly illustrated C18th copy of the Gospels of Luke and John, until recently on sale in Abu Dhabi for c €250,000 inlibris.com/item/bn69353/19 Sep 2026 17:21 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvv724ccwc2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3msposzfilk2mEritrean plunder. Or, possibly, forged Eritrean plunder, made to be bought by suckers like me. Fragment Ancient Adulis Coast of Abyssinia 186810 Aug 2026 08:32 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3msposzfilk2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3msmyabu7qk2t"The loan of the Bayeux Tapestry by France to the British Museum is a good example of creative cultural diplomacy that strengthens ties between friendly states. It also presents an opportunity ..." https://giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/actions/redeem/ba0dba24-3c25-4e85-b43f-dbd0af9e9c6c09 Aug 2026 06:43 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3msmyabu7qk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mqpe7tvcvc2fThank you so much to Kumnei for inviting me to to talk about Ethiopia's Prince Alemayehu on her excellent new Kumneger Podcast. A great conversation. We address the key question - should he stay or should he go home. https://youtu.be/UEmotfUIFP8?si=vhwhfW5MHxSqk00Z15 Jul 2026 18:32 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpe7tvcvc2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mp3zmuodv22dRadio 3 plays soft. But there's nothing, really nothing to turn off.25 Jun 2026 08:37 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mp3zmuodv22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mo33lubjns2eThe prettiest plundering scene I ever did see. "Tapestry with a plundering scene, Flanders, late 16th century. In a setting of valleys and woods, a scene of plunder under the watchful eye of Spanish soldiers." Yours for €2,000 - €3,000 https://www.bonhams.com/auction/31804/lot/145/tapisserie-figurant-une-scene-de-rapine-flandres-fin-du-xvi-siecle-tapestry-with-a-plundering-scene-flanders-late-16th-century/12 Jun 2026 06:14 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mo33lubjns2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mnffpbudc22fFor the Beatles completist in your life. #beatles [contains quote post or other embedded content]03 Jun 2026 15:16 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnffpbudc22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mnfeszhtlk2z'Battersea Rain Dance' by Chris Barber & His Band Featuring yell by Paul McCartney (copyright Apple Publishing) #realtreasure03 Jun 2026 15:00 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnfeszhtlk2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mm6spl4kgk25Game of Thrones loot for sale. Gold bar used in the Season 7 episode "The Spoils of War", yours for c £400. See how it glisters - https://www.ewbankauctions.co.uk/280526MP-lot-5082-Game-of-Thrones-2011-2019-Production-made-Gold-Bar-prop-from-the?arr=0&auction_id=1173&box_filter=0&category=&department_id=&exclude_keyword=&export_issue=0&high_estimate=0&image_filter=0&keyword=loot&list_type=&lots_per_page=0&low_estimate=0&month=&page_no=0&paper_filter=0&search_type=&sort_by=&view=lot_detail&year=19 May 2026 06:55 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mm6spl4kgk25https://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mlzwrmd6h22e🧵1/10 Lancaster’s Kings Own Royal Regiment Museum has returned a lock of hair taken from the body of Ethiopia’s Emperor Tewodros, and a piece of cloth stained with his blood. A big deal. But the significance goes beyond an act of restitution ... https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/ceremony-marks-formal-handover-of-ancient-relics-of-former-emperor-of-ethiopia-discovered-at-lancaster-city-museum-854314517 May 2026 08:25 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlzwrmd6h22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mkris6vuxs25"As Nazi Troops retreated from the town of Darmstadt, Germany, civilians who decided to stay behind, ran wild in an orgy of looting." 3 April 1945 https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/chiswick-auctions/catalogue-id-srchis11182/lot-94a3ab9d-0a14-4779-8ab6-b43c00f1c63501 May 2026 06:28 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkris6vuxs25https://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mkp2xd3t7k2dThis is not loot..."kein Kriegsraubgut"! An icon acquired at the Battle of Smolensk as the Nazis charged into Russia. "This was acquired for a fee and is therefore not war loot," reads the label. So that's alright then. Now you can acquire it for a fee. https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-gb/auction-catalogues/auktionshaus-mehlis/catalogue-id-srauktio10052/lot-09a185e8-8a48-466f-b33b-b4390120a91130 Apr 2026 07:15 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mkp2xd3t7k2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mjjdmibaik2sOne of the repeated stories about Britain's 1868 invasion of Ethiopia is that Emperor Tewodros took his own life with a pistol given to him by Queen Victoria. But, as @alulapankhurst.bsky.social says, there were other guns around ... https://x.com/alulapan/status/204411616709938837815 Apr 2026 07:09 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjjdmibaik2shttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mjeadfhyak2sMore catch-up on Ethiopian plunder. The hairpin of Ethiopia's Queen Terunesh returns home, with the help of the Royal Ethiopian Trust and plunder-watchers including @alulapankhurst.bsky.social https://x.com/alulapan/status/203752798466025913513 Apr 2026 06:27 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjeadfhyak2shttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mjbsqwz4ws2sLots to catch up on in the Ethiopian plunder-sphere. Let's start with a pair of slippers. They have been sitting for decades in the V&A's vaults, "miscatalogued" as Turkish. Now linked to Maqdala and Queen Terunesh by super-researcher Molly Judd. https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/researching-the-provenance-of-the-vas-ethiopian-objects12 Apr 2026 07:18 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjbsqwz4ws2shttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mjbr3lzjuc2sThe people who should win this year's Nobel Peace Prize - the volunteers running Sudan's Emergency Response Rooms https://www.ft.com/content/e9fcf5ce-dbb1-4fa7-b7e1-827fb1845f6d?syn-25a6b1a6=112 Apr 2026 06:49 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjbr3lzjuc2shttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3mcrdf4rra22zTop five things to take the edge off #BlueMonday 1-The Forkiverse - theforkiverse.com 2-The A Book - A Place podcast by Robin Pomeroy - robinpomeroy.wordpress.com @robinpomeroy.bsky.social 3-The ill-advised podcast with Bill Nighy 4-The reborn Observer 5-The Iron Maiden scene in 28 Years Later19 Jan 2026 09:30 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcrdf4rra22zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3m7amh42u4s2a"The British Museum now acknowledges that the Asante Ewer was loot, a term the institution would not have used until recent years. In an 'object in focus' book, just published, the Asante Ewer is acknowledged as 'looted'." Again, Go Ghana https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/12/02/british-museums-looted-ewer-set-for-return-to-ghana-on-long-term-loan05 Dec 2025 13:41 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7amh42u4s2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3m76jivid5s2zA beautiful hairpin that belonged to Prince Alemayehu's mother - Empress Tiruwork - is going back to Ethiopia c. 160 years after it was taken by the British military doctor who treated her last illness. Congrats to all involved @alulapankhurst.bsky.social https://royalethiopiantrust.org/the-return-of-imperial-hairpin/04 Dec 2025 17:43 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3m76jivid5s2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3m73nbqraz22qStepping back into socials with some real treasure - without a doubt, the greatest album cover ever. Not the greatest album ever, but Sandy Brown's 1957 'McJazz' is notable for including a Scot's best wishes to newly indepedent Africa. With opening track 'Go Ghana' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DddbWP9gCE03 Dec 2025 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3m73nbqraz22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/andrewheavens.bsky.social/post/3lwsyzre7k22vFather and son! Thank you so much to Mariamawit Y Yeshak for taking Alemayehu, via her copy of 'The Prince and the Plunder', to the statue of his father's great cannon in Addis Ababa. Really moving. Please send in other sightings. #friendsofalemayehu #theprinceandtheplunder #Ethiopia20 Aug 2025 08:27 +0000at://did:plc:eubth72cy44mmshbd5udkhro/app.bsky.feed.post/3lwsyzre7k22v