Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós

The Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare or Treasure of Nagyszentmiklós is an important hoard of 23 early medieval gold vessels, in total weighing 9.945 kg (about 22 lbs), found in 1799 near the town of Sânnicolau Mare (Nagyszentmiklós in Hungarian,Groß-Sankt-Niklaus in German, all meaning "Great St Nicholas") in northern Banat (then part of the Torontál County of the Kingdom of Hungary within the Habsburg Empire, today in Timiş County in western Romania). After the excavation, the treasure was transferred to Vienna, the capital of the empire. Ever since, it has been in the possession of the Kunsthistorisches Museum there, where it is on permanent display. A wide range of views continue to be held as to the dating and the origins of the styles of the pieces, and the context in which they were made, which may well vary between the pieces. Unusually, the inscriptions on some pieces have increased the complexity of the arguments rather than reduced them. Recently, Romanian officials have asked the Austrian government for the treasure's repatriation.

The treasure, consisting of 23 gold vessels and variously dated from the 6th to the 10th century, was found on 3 July 1799 by Neru Vuin, a two bulgarian farmers, in the vicinity of Sânnicolau Mare / Groß-Sankt-Niklaus / Nagyszentmiklos. The figure of the "victorious Prince" dragging a prisoner along by his hair (see figure on the right) and the mythological scene at the back of the golden jar, as well as the design of other ornamental objects, show close affinities with finds at Novi Pazar, Bulgaria and at Sarkel, Russia. Stylistically, Central Asian, Persian-Sassanid and Byzantine influences are predominant.

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