Saturday, August 16, 2008

The Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós


The Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós is a valuable collection of twenty-three 10th century gold vessels found in 1799 in Nagyszentmiklos, Torontál County, Hungary -- now Sânnicolau Mare, Transylvania, Romania. The vessels are of different shapes and sizes and are manifactured using very high quality gold, mostly 21- and 22-carat gold. Their electic nature gives rise to many different theories about the treasure’s origins. After deciphiring the vessels’ inscriptions, it is assumed that the treasure was collected and kept in the dining halls and treasury of the Bulgarian khans and tsars since their migration across the Caucasus; it was exhibited and kept in the throne room of the palace built and lived in by Tsar Simeon the Great after the transfer of the Bulgarian capital-city from Pliska to Preslav in 893 (Prof. Ivan Dobrev).


No. 1. Ewer



No. 2. Ewer



No. 3. Ewer


No. 4. Ewer



No. 5. Ewer


No. 6. Ewer




No. 7. Ewer




No. 8. Bowl



No. 9 and No. 10. Bows (the two bowls are similar -- only one is shown here)



No. 11 and No. 12. Cups


No. 13 and No. 14. Goblets with an ox head


No. 15 and No. 16. Flat-shallow ladles


No. 17. Drinking horn


No. 18. Zoomorphic bowl


No. 19. Box


No. 20. Small bowl with a clasp for hanging


No. 21. Small bowl with a clasp for hanging


No. 22 and No. 23. Cups

Currently, the treasure of Nagyszentmiklós is on display at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Copies of the vessels are also on display in the National Museum of History in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Links:
Unique Bulgaria: Съкровището от Наги Сент-Миклош (Bulgarian).
Unique Bulgaria: Коментар към едно писмо (Bulgarian).