The Sevso Treasure

The Sevso Treasure

The hoard of Roman era silver plates, platters and chalices that came to be known as the Sevso Treasure first surfaced in Hungary at some point during the 1970s. Hungarian authorities claim the hoard was discovered by soldier József Sümegh in approximately 1975–76 in the vicinity of the town of Polgárdi, close to Balaton.

The hoard was named after a Latin inscription on one of the large plates: "Let these, O Sevso, yours for many ages be, small vessels fit to serve your offspring worthily." It contained at least two uniquely identifiable items, the so-called "Hunting Plate" and the "Dionysiac Ewer".

The treasure was acquired in the 1980s by a consortium led by Spencer Compton, the 7th Marquess of Northampton, at the recommendation of Peter Wilson, a former deputy chairman of Sotheby's. When Compton commissioned it for sale at Sotheby's in 1990, the auction house reached out to officials from countries where it might have surfaced. It was impounded by a Manhattan judge when Lebanese officials claimed it had been smuggled out of the Bekaa Valley. The treasure's Lebanese export license was later found to be a forgery.

Hungary and Croatia also claimed the silver had been illegally excavated from their countries but failed to prove ownership through the US courts, which found that Compton was the legal owner.

In 2014 Hungary purchased seven pieces of the Sevso Treasure for the €15,000,000 paid to "unidentified sellers" in London. In June 2017, Hungary paid €28 million for seven more of the artifacts. The rest of the hoard remains in the possession of Compton, his family and an unnamed third party.

14

Various

Roman

Bonhams (display without auction)

Sotheby's (consigned but withdrawn)

Lord Northhampton

Hungary

Jason Felch

Damien Huffer