{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0861543130?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"0861543130","authors":["Barnaby Phillips"],"book_id":"9780861543137","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/loot-0861543130","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780861543137.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","description":"A tragic story of the British empire run amok and the plunder of great works of art A Prospect Best Book of 2021 ‘A fascinating and timely book.’ William Boyd ‘Gripping…a must read.’ FT ‘Compelling…humane, reasonable, and ultimately optimistic.’ Evening Standard ‘[A] valuable guide to a complex narrative.’ The Times In 1897, Britain sent a punitive expedition to the Kingdom of Benin, in what is today Nigeria, in retaliation for the killing of seven British officials and traders. British soldiers and sailors captured Benin, exiled its king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa’s greatest works of art. The ‘Benin Bronzes’ are now amongst the most admired and valuable artworks in the world. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like ‘visiting relatives behind bars’. In a time of huge controversy about the legacy of empire, racial justice and the future of museums, what does the future hold for the Bronzes?","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780861543137","publication_date":"20220628","publisher":"Oneworld Publications","slug":"loot","subtitle":"Britain and the Benin Bronzes","title":"Loot"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"ART015010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African Art History","score":0.7778,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century History","score":0.7593,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"18th-Century History","score":0.7515,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"ART015010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"African Art History","score":0.7778,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037060","confidence_band":"medium","label":"19th-Century History","score":0.7593,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037050","confidence_band":"medium","label":"18th-Century History","score":0.7515,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"ART015010","confidence_band":"high","label":"African Art History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"ART015100","confidence_band":"high","label":"Modern Art History (to 1945)","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"ART037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Art & Politics","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS000000","confidence_band":"high","label":"History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS001000","confidence_band":"high","label":"African History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS001010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Central African History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS015000","confidence_band":"high","label":"British History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"POL045000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Colonialism & Its Aftermath","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"African Art History","score":0.7778,"slug":"african-art-history"},{"label":"19th-Century History","score":0.7593,"slug":"19th-century-history"},{"label":"18th-Century History","score":0.7515,"slug":"18th-century-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy African Art History","Good for readers interested in british","Good for fans of History"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Dan Hicks"],"book_id":"9780745346229","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780745346229.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":15.8413,"title":"The Brutish Museums","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780745346229"},{"authors":["Stith Thompson","Sidney Littlefield Kasfir"],"book_id":"9780253219220","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780253219220.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.4844,"title":"African Art and the Colonial Encounter","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780253219220"},{"authors":["Cécile Fromont"],"book_id":"9781469641249","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781469641249.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.4343,"title":"The Art of Conversion","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781469641249"},{"authors":["Martyn Bennett"],"book_id":"9780631191551","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780631191551.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.4081,"title":"The Civil Wars in Britain and Ireland","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780631191551"},{"authors":["Alex von Tunzelmann"],"book_id":"9780063081673","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780063081673.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.2734,"title":"Fallen Idols","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780063081673"},{"authors":["Adam Hochschild"],"book_id":"9780618619078","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780618619078.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.263,"title":"Bury the Chains","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780618619078"},{"authors":["Maya Jasanoff"],"book_id":"9781400075461","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781400075461.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.2134,"title":"Edge of Empire","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781400075461"},{"authors":["Peter Linebaugh"],"book_id":"9781859845769","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781859845769.jpg?v=20260418T080002Z-pairingsrefresh%3A2026-04-18T08%3A00%3A02Z","score":11.164,"title":"The London Hanged","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781859845769"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:british history"],"label":"History","score":0.9238,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:african history"],"label":"African","score":0.1109,"slug":"african"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:time's monster"],"label":"Time","score":0.0909,"slug":"time"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:british empire"],"label":"British","score":0.0475,"slug":"british"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: History, African, British.","Reading lane: African Art History and 19th Century History.","Publisher: Oneworld Publications."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":167,"goodreads_ratings_count":261,"goodreads_reviews_count":42,"quality_score":0.9031}}