The treasure is only being shown to an invited few, but a correspondent of the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) was allowed a short look on Wednesday by a Bonhams official. At the centre of the display is the large bowl from which the hoard has its name: inscribed in its centre is ?Hec Sevso tibi durent per saecula multa posteris ut prosint vascula digna tuis?. On its side is inscribed the word ?Pelso, the Latin name for Lake Balaton, upon which Hungary bases its claim for the treasure.
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.
The Bonhams official, who is representing the hoard?s owner, the Marquess of Northampton, said Bonhams had answered the ministry?s letter, but declined to reveal any further details.
The official said the Marquess wishes to sell the treasure, which he obtained almost 40 years earlier, but the current exhibition is unrelated to a planned sale. Rather it offers a chance to show the hoard to experts in the field of antiquities.
The official declined to speculate when a possible sale would occur, or what the starting price would be.
London papers have written the Sevso Hoard is worth GBP 40-100 million.
