Seuso Treasure now in the focus of science
All-embracing research may prove the origin of the objects
MúzeumCafé 42.
For more than three months in the parliament building everyone interested could, without charge, view items of the Seuso Treasure brought to Hungary at the end of March, namely seven superlative late Roman silver vessels and the copper cauldron used to hold hide them were on display there. Now attention is turning to the fate of the items in question. Why have they disappeared from public view for the time being? When and where will they again be on display? What is happening to the objects now the exhibition in parliament has been dismantled? The exhibition was still on when the Office of Parliament issued a laconic statement saying that after being in parliament the items in question would be taken to the National Museum where they would be subject to scientific examination by a working group of the Academy recently established to research the Seuso Treasure. After that, the findings would again be on public display in a new National Museum exhibition. Even in its deficient state today, the Seuso Treasure of total of 15 Seuso objects, represents the finest and most valuable existing set of late Roman serving and washing vessels. The place of discovery of the finding is debated, but most arguments indicate it was in Transdanubia. However, these are mainly indirect arguments, which in terms of methodology are similar and point to one conclusion, yet were insufficient to validate the claim of ownership brought by Hungary before a New York court in 1993–94. Due to private interests, therefore, this outstanding item representative of world cultural heritage cannot be sold and, exiled to a safe deposit, has been waiting for a better turn in its fate. For decades not only was the treasure inaccessible for the public but, with a few exceptions, not counting a few privileged researchers, it was also out of bounds for the world of science researchers. Many tasks and open or disputed questions still remain, the resolution of which is only a prospect if the objects can be studied directly. Thus the possibility of this appeared when the Hungarian party came to an agreement with the other party owning half of the Seuso Treasure, such that the silver vessels and the cauldron they held were brought – with the permission of the British authorities –to Hungary. From the statements made while the treasure was on display in parliament, it turned out that Hungary in a major departure had maintained contacts officially relating to the outstanding finds in a completely different way as compared to the past. This became evident partly since a few days after their arrival the items never seen by the public were already being exhibited, and partly due to the arrangements for the scientific research of the finds. The aim of the planned five-year research project is to undertake, firstly with the items in Hungary, comprehensive scientific analysis, from the documentation of the objects and examination of the place of their making, through research into their supposed place of discovery, to their historical, social, iconographic and art history interpretation. All this requires the working group to establish place this in the cultural, artistic and social setting of the late Roman imperial era’s and late antique era’s cultural, artistic and social setting, ensuring with this the real possibility and requirements need for examination of the finds in the an international context. Part of the project involves analysis of the history of the treasure in modern times. Support for the research work can create a fortunate situation from which the international prestige of Hungarian science can grow further. There has rarely been any similar outstanding archaeological find of antique times, of which the ambitious, comprehensive scientific examination has begun with such a degree and nature of state support. As the first step, the structure of the research project had to be established. Thus the working group of the Academy was recently formed commissioned under the chairmanship of academician László Török. Institutes playing a major role in the five-year research project include the Museum of Fine Arts and the National Museum, two national institutions, which coordinate researchers and deal with the collection of antique objects, and which regard scientific cooperation as one of the main tasks of the Seuso research work. Coordination of the working group’s archaeometrical examinations will be ensured by the Academy’s Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences – Institute for Geological and Geochemical Research, which has 20 years’ experience in this field. A basic principle is that the scientific analysis should be established on the widest possible domestic research base, without excluding international specialists. Great results are expected on the part of the scientific community and the public alike, but it has to be accepted that just now questions still cannot be answered. We are only at the start of a long research project. The possibility of directly studying the objects has created an entirely new situation. This will helps us deciding whether the arguments and hypotheses that had been put forward earlier without the first-hand study of the findings will stand the test of the new, direct examination of the objects. This understanding notion goes together with again the idea that raising questions, which have seemed clear-cut for ages to have been unambiguous, have to be posed again. Of these the most important concerns whether all the 15 items in the collection of finds known as the Seuso Treasure really came from the same site. The question is unavoidable since it often occurs in the art trade that art objects of different or unknown provenance appear together in one collection, with a view to realising a much higher price. In the case of the Seuso Treasure, this possibility has to be examined, as it is conceivable that, using the well-known name of the finds, attempts might behave been made to associate other objects with a view to them being sold as Seuso silver. Although finding the exact or approximate location of discovery of the Seuso Treasure is an important aim, at least equally important is the complex research which takes us closer to under-standing the silver objects constituting the treasure. However, basic research in connection with late Roman silverwork is still regarded as being at an early stage. In many respects completed material research is still in the air, since often we cannot interpret the given data. As we lack comparable information, the differentiation between individual workshops is unclear and we don’t know what kind of journey was undertaken to the basic materials used by silversmiths between mine and workshop. Thus research into late Roman silverwork presents another new and significant opportunity for Hungarian science.