Panagyurishte Gold Treasure on display in the British Museum in London

The exhibition "Luxury and Power: From Persia to Greece" opened at the British Museum in London on May 3, and the entire exhibition is organised around one of the most impressive Bulgarian treasures - Panagyurishte Gold Treasure.

Bulgaria's Vice President, Iliana Iotova, and caretaker Minister of Culture, Naiden Todorov, were the first official guests to see the exhibition. They were accompanied by the Bulgarian Ambassador in London, Marin Raykov.

The impressive exhibition traces the links between wealth and power in antiquity. One of the most glamorous Bulgarian treasures, the Panagyurishte Treasure, is the centrepiece of the exhibition.

At its official opening this evening, Iliana Iotova thanked the museum's director Hartwig Fischer for the event and called the treasure a calling card of Bulgaria.

"The exhibition is important because it shows that history is written not by battles but by culture," the Bulgarian Vice President added.

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The Panagyurishte gold treasure is by far the the rischest and most brilliant gold hoard discovered, which was unearthed by accident by three brothers in 1949 during clay digging near the town of Panagyurishte.

It consists of nine solid gold vessels (a phiale, an amphora and seven rhytons) with total weight of 6.164 kg of 23-karat gold. All of the objects are richly and skilfully decorated with scenes of Thracian myths, customs and life.

Image by BTA

Image by BTA

Image by BTA