Umutkor collar - Attila the Hun

Authorities of Kyrgyzstan suspected the 5th-century Eastern Hunnic gold collar sold by Sotheby’s was taken from the country illegally. The Umutkor collar was sold for £242,500 ($380,215) in 2014. The royal collar and beads set with garnets and glass belonged to Sansyzbay Umutkor, who bought it circa 1890-1895. The collar was handed down by family descent until it was exported to Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2013.

Eastern Hunnic jewellery is exceedingly rare. A complete collar is spectacular. The unrecorded fifth century gold royal collar set with garnets and glass is from the time of Attila the Hun.

The magnificent collar would have been worn only by those of the highest status.

Attila and his Huns are seen in the West as barbarians. Attila led military raids on both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires. In the late fourth and fifth centuries they viciously subjected all of the European tribes and forced Rome and Constantinople to pay vast sums to keep the Hunnic horde out of their cities.

The Barbarians accelerated the fall of Rome.

Attila the Hun is considered by most Hungarians as the founder of the country. According to ancient records, Attila died in his palace across the Danube after a feast celebrating his marriage to a beautiful young gothic princess named Ildico. Legend says that his men diverted a section of a river, buried the coffin under the riverbed, and were then killed to keep the exact location a secret.