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Asked to comment by the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) on reports the hoard has been sold, an official at Bonhams said the auction house did not know about any such sale.
"To the best of our knowledge, such a transaction did not take place...for this reason we decline to comment on the reports," the official said, adding that it would be "very surprising" if the hoard had been sold without Bonhams' knowledge.
The priceless silver pieces were put on display at a private exhibition at Bonhams by their owner, the Marquess of Northampton, in October 2006. At the time, the marquess expressed his desire to sell the objects, which had "cursed" his family, but Bonhams said the exhibition was unrelated to any planned sale. Rather it offered a chance to show the hoard to experts in the field of antiquities.
A spokesman for the marquess declined to comment on the most recent reports of the sale when asked by MTI.
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 Ministry of Education and Culture sent a letter to Bonhams before the exhibition in October 2006 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.
London papers have written the Sevso Hoard is worth GBP 40-100 million.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / The Guardian / The Times
