§ Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthornasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Sevso Treasure, offered for public auction by Sotheby's in 1990 but impounded in New York prior to the advertised sale, was legally excavated and legally exported from its country of origin; from which country it in fact originated; and whether its advertised auction would have conformed with the code of practice to which members of the UK antiquities trade subscribe.
46WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of National Heritage (Lord Inglewood)I cannot comment on whether or not the Roman silver (known as the Sevso Hoard) was legally excavated and legally exported from its country of origin, as its country of origin is unknown. Claims by the Lebanon, Hungary and Croatia were rejected by the New York court. I believe Sotheby's acted within the spirit of the code of practice. Prior to the proposed sale, they took great care to check that the items were neither stolen nor illegally exported. They notified 27 countries whose territory was previously in the Roman Empire, informed the academic world of each of those countries, briefed appropriate journalists and verified with the Lebanese Embassy in Switzerland that the export documentation accompanying the silver was genuine.