Sevso Treasure
Encyclopedia
Hoard
In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
objects from the late Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, that may be illicit antiquities.
The treasure trove
Treasure trove
A treasure trove may broadly be defined as an amount of money or coin, gold, silver, plate, or bullion found hidden underground or in places such as cellars or attics, where the treasure seems old enough for it to be presumed that the true owner is dead and the heirs undiscoverable...
consists of 14 large decorated silver vessels and the copper cauldron which contained them, and has been dated to the late fourth or early fifth century AD.
Most notable is a large dish, 70 cm in diameter and weighing nearly 9 kg, which bears the inscription:
- Hec Sevso tibi durent per saecula multa
- Posteris ut prosint vascula digna tuis
- May these, O Sevso, yours for many ages be
- Small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily.
The location, archaeological context and provenance of the find remain unknown. The existence of such a hoard first came to attention in 1980 when a single piece in the possession of two antiquities dealers from Vienna was offered for sale in London. Further pieces reached the market, and what is believed to be the complete hoard was acquired by a consortium headed by Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton
Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton
Spencer "Spenny" Douglas David Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton is a British peer.He is the son of the Most Hon. William Compton, 6th Marquess of Northampton and Ms...
.
Documentation from the Lebanese Embassy in Switzerland stated that the treasure had been found in the Tyre and Sidon regions of Lebanon, and on that basis the consortium negotiated to sell the collection to the Getty Museum for $10 million. When that deal fell through, the treasure was put up for sale in New York in 1990 by Sotheby's
Sotheby's
Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
, described as being from "what was once the province of Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
in the Eastern Roman Empire".
The sale was halted when documentation was found to be false, and the governments of Croatia, Hungary and Lebanon made claims of ownership. In November 1993, the New York Court of Appeals
New York Court of Appeals
The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the U.S. state of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six associate judges who are appointed by the Governor to 14-year terms...
in New York rejected their claims and found no case for removing the treasure from the possession of the Marquess of Northampton 1987 Settlement (a Trust established by the Marquess of Northampton). The silver was locked away in a bank vault while further legal proceedings followed. The Marquess sued his solicitors Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy
Allen & Overy is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom.A member of the UK's Magic Circle of leading law firms, Allen & Overy is widely considered to be one of the world's elite law firms, advising national and multinational corporations, financial institutions, and...
for damages in relation to advice given during the purchase of the silver, and that case was settled out of court in 1999 for a reported £15 million.
21st century developments
On 25 June 1999 in written answers to questions in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, the British government confirmed that it had no further interest in the case.
In September 2006, London auctioneer Bonhams
Bonhams
Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house founded in 1793. It is the third largest auctioneer after Sotheby's and Christie's, and conducts around 700 auctions per year. It has 700 employees....
announced that it would exhibit the treasure privately, in a move seen as a prelude to a sale by private treaty or by auction at a future date. A spokesman for the Ministry of Education and Culture in Hungary, which still claims the Treasure, said it had informed the UK authorities that the treasure must not be sold. On 12 October 2006 further written answers were given in the House of Lords, from questions by Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn
Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn
Andrew Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, Ph.D., FBA, FSA, HonFSAScot is a prominent British archaeologist and highly regarded academic, noted for his work on radiocarbon dating, the prehistory of languages, archaeogenetics, and the prevention of looting at archaeological sites...
, particularly relating to Hungary's possible revised claim to the treasure since its admission to the EU. Bonhams went ahead with its private exhibition of the Sevso Treasure on 17 October 2006.
In March 2007 The Art Newspaper reported that a further "187 silvergilt spoons, 37 silvergilt drinking cups, and 5 silver bowls", previously unknown, but part of the original hoard, were reputed to exist.
Research presented in February 2008 by the archeologist Zsolt Visy has strengthened the view that the origin of the treasure may be the Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...
region of Hungary.
The Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
archaeology program Time Team
Time Team
Time Team is a British television series which has been aired on Channel 4 since 1994. Created by television producer Tim Taylor and presented by actor Tony Robinson, each episode features a team of specialists carrying out an archaeological dig over a period of three days, with Robinson explaining...
aired a special on the treasure in December 2008. The programme presented further evidence for the likely origin of the hoard being near the town of Polgárdi
Polgárdi
Polgárdi is a town in Fejér county, Hungary....
in Hungary. The Marquess of Northampton withdrew from planned participation in the programme and Channel 4 was not given permission to film the treasure, held in a vault at Bonhams auctioneers in London.
Sources
- Antiques Trade Gazette, 30 September 2006
- Ruth E. Leader-Newby — Silver and Society in Late Antiquity: Functions and Meanings of Silver Plate in the Fourth to Seventh Centuries
- Marlia Mundell Mango and Anna Bennett — "The Sevso Treasure" in Journal of Roman Archaeology Suppl. 12:1, 1994.
Further reading
- Leo V. Gagion, Harvey Kurzweil and Ludovic de Walden — "The Trial of the Sevso Treasure: What a Nation Will Do in the Name of Its Heritage" in Kate FitzGibbon, ed. — Who Owns the Past? Cultural Policy, Cultural Property and the Law. (Rutgers University Press, 2005) ISBN 0-8135-3687-1