The treasure was recently put on display at a private exhibition at Bonhams auction house in London by their owner, the Marquess of Northampton.
In a letter to the London Times, Colin Renfrew, an expert on antiquities, urged the treasure?s owner to stake steps to determine its provenance.
?Is it not now time that the marquess tried to determine from which country it was originally exported, apparently without legal export permit, and took steps to return it to its land of origin??
Rupert Redesdale, secretary of the all-party parliamentary archaeology group, and one of those responsible for the UK?s Dealing in Cultural Objects (Offences) Act, expressed his support of Renfrew?s view in the Guardian.
?There is an urgent need for a full examination of the origins and ownership of this treasure before determining its ultimate destination,? Redesdale writes.
?While the treasure remains here with its status unresolved, it represents a standing challenge to the effectiveness of the measures in force in this country to combat the trade in illicit antiquities.?
Redesdale notes, however, that the act he helped bring about, applies only to cultural objects discovered after 2003.
The Sevso Hoard was probably made in a Greek workshop for a wealthy Roman client. The treasure?s name derives from an inscription on one of four enormous platters made of pure silver: "May these, O Sevso, yours for many ages be, small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily."
The hoard was allegedly found in the late 1970s by József Sümegh, a 22-year-old quarryman who died under mysterious circumstances after he is believed to have sold the pieces on the black market.
The name Pelso, the Latin name for Lake Balaton, is inscribed on one of the hoard?s pieces, which supports Hungary?s claim that the treasure?s origin is within its borders. Also, the collection of Hungary?s National Museum contains a silver tripod found near Lake Balaton in the 19th century which looks very much like another object from the hoard.
The hoard was brought to London in the early 1980s with an export licence from Lebanon, later claimed to be a forgery. The marquess bought the silver on the advice of the late Peter Wilson, former chairman of Sotheby's. In 1990, when a Sotheby's auction was announced and the silver was on display in New York, Lebanon, Hungary and Yugoslavia all lodged legal claims to it. In 1993 an American court found that none of the countries could prove title, and that the marquess was the legal owner. However, the silver was left without any agreed provenance and has been regarded as unsaleable.
The marquess has expressed his desire to sell the objects, which have ?cursed? his family, but Bonhams has said the exhibition is unrelated to a planned sale. Rather it offers a chance to show the hoard to experts in the field of antiquities.
The Ministry of Education and Culture sent a letter to Bonhams before the exhibition reaffirming Hungary?s claim on the treasure.
??We maintain our claim of title and will take all possible legal measures to pursue it,? the ministry said in the letter.
An official from the auction house said Bonhams had answered the ministry?s letter, but declined to reveal any further details.
London papers have written the Sevso Hoard is worth GBP 40-100 million.
Source: Múlt-kor / The Guardian / The Times
