Experts still examining Seuso treasure in Hungary

Budapest, December 29 (MTI) – Experts are still examining the seven pieces of the late-Roman Seuso silver collection reacquired by Hungary last year, daily Nepszabadsag said on Tuesday.

The collection could be put on a permanent display in the National Museum next year, Director-General Laszlo Csorba said.

The silver trays and jugs are believed to have been a part of the tableware used in a rich villa in the Balaton area, then part of the Roman Empire, in the 4th century.

Following a lengthy international dispute over the ownership of the treasure, which had been smuggled out of the country and ended up in Britain, the Hungarian government recovered the seven pieces in March 2014 at a cost of 15 million euros.

The government holds the firm position that the treasure belongs to Hungary and is committed to bringing its remaining pieces back to Hungary within a reasonable time, Laszlo Baan, Director-General of the Museum of Fine Arts, told the paper. To this effect, however, it should reach an agreement with Lord Northampton, who purchased pieces of the collection between 1982 and 1990.

The seven pieces were first shown in Parliament than in the city of Szekesfehervar, in western Hungary.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters