The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the fundamental unit of human social life, which includes shared language, values, and culture. Thus national treasure, part of the ideology of nationalism, is shared culture.
A national treasure can be a shared cultural asset, which may or may not have monetary value; for example, a skilled banjo player would be a Living National Treasure. Or it may refer to a rare cultural object, such as the medieval manuscript Plan of St. Gall in Switzerland. The government of Japan designates the most famous of the nation's cultural properties as National Treasures of Japan. The National Treasures of Korea are a set of artifacts, sites, and buildings that are recognised by South Korea as having exceptional cultural value.
Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, the voice of Gaelic games, has been described both as a "national treasure" and "Ireland's greatest national treasure", often with reference to the tendency in the neighbouring United Kingdom to declare such people as this.[10][11][12]
After the Brazil national football team won the 1962 FIFA World Cup, wealthy European clubs offered massive fees to sign their young star player, Pelé, but the government of Brazil declared him an official national treasure to prevent him from being transferred out of the country.[13]
In 2013 the British satirical magazine Private Eye began running a column poking fun at an exponential increase in references in the press to "national treasures".[15]
^For example, Private Eye no. 1340 (17–30 May 2013), "National Treasures", p. 13, contains excerpts from newspaper reports which attach the status to Olivia Colman, Clare Balding, Graham Norton and (formerly) Stuart Hall.