The name Seuso derives from its owner known from an inscription found on one of the vessels
The showcased Seuso, or Sevso, treasure consists of seven pieces of the unique, ancient Roman silver pitchers, platters and bowls. Hungary says the objects were dug up near Lake Balaton during the communist period and smuggled to the West.
The first pieces appeared on the market in London in 1980, and the treasure was acquired by a consortium headed by Spencer Compton, 7th Marquess of Northampton. Documentation was provided in which it was stated that the treasure had been found in the Tyre and Sidon regions of Lebanon.
The treasure was put up for sale in New York in 1990 by Sotheby’s but this was halted when the evidence was found to be false. Then the governments of Hungary, Yugoslavia and Lebanon claimed ownership. The claims were rejected by a US court and the treasure remained in the possession of the Marquess.
However, on 26 March this year Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced that the Seuso Treasure, “Hungary’s family silverware”, had been reacquired and was returning to its proper place.
The name Seuso derives from its owner known from an inscription found on one of the vessels: “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). It is almost certain that Seuso’s, or Sevso’s, offspring never had the opportunity to enjoy these large vessels made of very high quality silver.
Archaeologists assume that Seuso, a high official in Pannonia, hid his valuables, perhaps fleeing from the barbarian – ironically most likely Hun – invaders. As several other countries claimed to have legal claims on the treasure, Hungary had to prove its right. The main evidence was the engraved word “Pelso” on one of the most important vessels, the so-called “Hunting Plate”. “Pelso” is the ancient Latin name of Lake Balaton, so the Hungarian ownership was accepted.
Mysteries surround not only the treasure’s place of origin but its discovery as well. It was found in the mid-1970s around Polgárdi, near Lake Balaton. Despite the international investigation that has been ongoing since then, little is known for certain about what followed until the objects’ reappearance in public at the New York auction in 1990.
According to the information available, the artifacts were tracked down by an amateur archaeologist, József Sümegh, who, however, did not make any official notification about the trove. Just as in an Indiana Jones film, the explorer of the treasures died amid dubious circumstances: his hanging body was found in 1980 in a cellar near Polgárdi.
The police announced it as a suicide, although two military belts had been used in the act when Sümegh only owned one, and there were footprints leaving the scene. Moreover, Sümegh’s two closest friends, who knew about the discovery, died due to food poisoning and alleged suicide. Following these events, the collection disappeared; supposedly it was taken to the Western European market via intermediaries in the 1980s. Again according to the information available, the 14 silver pieces known today were originally purchased by several collectors based on fake Lebanese documents. Their attempted sale in New York in 1990 was by a consortium led by Lord Northampton for an auction price amounting to EUR 100 million at today’s value.
According to archaeologists the collection originally probably consisted of 250 pieces and the return of seven is only the beginning of a journey of discoveries. As its Hungarian origins were proven, in 2000 the Hungarian police continued the on-going investigations of Sümegh’s case but with little result. The questions of whether the other seven pieces will be returned and how exactly Sümegh died remain to be seen.
Throughout the last almost 25 years Hungary has never abandoned the goal of acquiring this unique collection. Simultaneously with continuing verification procedures, representatives of consecutive Hungarian governments negotiated with the owners of the Seuso treasure several times, albeit unsuccessfully. Agreements failed due to several factors, including the exorbitant asking price of tens of billions of forints.
The negotiations that finally led to success started in 2013. János Lázár, state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, and László Baán, director of the Museum of Fine Arts, represented the Hungarian state. The compensation payable for the acquisition was EUR 15 million, which – at today’s value – is about one third of the auction price sought in 1990. The treasure was repatriated to Budapest in March with the logistical help of the Counter Terrorism Center.
The treasure consists of seven silver vessels: the Hunting (Seuso) Plate and the Geometric Plate, two geometric ewers, the Basin, the Casket and the Dionysiac Ewer, plus the copper cauldron that was used for hiding them 1,500 years ago. It was showcased in the Parliament building, then on 30 June was transported to the National Museum where scientists and archaeologists will carry out various studies.
Following which the pieces will be shown to the public, possibly later completed with the other half of the collection and an explanation for its mysteries.
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