Sotheby's in Hong Kong has postponed the auction of more than 300 gems with ties to early Buddhism after opposition from India. The auction, initially scheduled for Wednesday, was halted "in light of the matters raised by the Government of India and with the agreement of the consignors," Sotheby's announced, according to the Smithsonian Magazine.
The Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal notice demanding that Sotheby's halt the auction, repatriate the relics, and issue a public apology, stating that the jewels are part of India's religious and cultural heritage and calling for the "immediate cessation" of the sale of the Piprahwa gems.
On Monday, the ministry emphasized that the sale violated Indian and international law, threatening legal proceedings against Sotheby's for contravening laws protecting items of cultural heritage. In the legal notice, the jewels were described as "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community," underlining their significance to both India and Buddhists worldwide.
The Piprahwa gems, dating back to around 240 BCE, were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppé in northern India. The discovery occurred at Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace, where Peppé found them during the excavation of an ancient funerary monument. His workers excavated a stupa on his estate and uncovered a vaulted chamber containing a sandstone chest with five reliquaries.
The reliquaries held bones and ash alongside nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, topazes, sapphires, and other gems. One of the reliquaries bore an inscription confirming the contents as "relics of the Buddha, deposited by the Sakya clan." These findings suggested a direct connection to the historical Buddha, elevating the relics' religious and cultural importance.
Under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act, the British crown ultimately claimed the items. According to an essay by William Claxton Peppé's great-grandson, Chris Peppé, the "major pieces of gold and jewelry" were donated to a museum in Kolkata, and most of the 1,800 gems went to what is now the Indian Museum in Kolkata. The bone relics were presented to the king of Siam. About one-fifth of the remaining gems, which Sotheby's describes as "duplicates," remained with Peppé and were passed down through his heirs. His ancestor "gave the gems, the relics and the reliquaries to the Indian government," and his family kept "a small portion" of the discovery.
The sale of the trove, which many Buddhists consider sacred, has prompted backlash among scholars, religious leaders, and Indian government officials. "It's quite galling to hear that sacred relics can be commodified," said art historian Naman Ahuja to CBC News. He described the Piprahwa gems as "the cultural property of the world" and noted they are "extraordinary things."
In an opinion piece for Religion News Service, art historians Conan Cheong and Ashley Thompson wrote, "The gems, and his bone and ash, all belong to the Buddha and shouldn't just be sold to the highest bidder." Their sentiments reflect a broader concern about the commercialization of sacred artifacts.
Sotheby's refers to the Piprahwa gems as "a kaleidoscopic range of precious materials" that are of "unparalleled religious, archaeological and historical importance." Following the postponement, the auction house stated, "This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate."
Chris Peppé, the Los Angeles-based film director and producer who inherited the collection along with his cousins in 2013, describes his family's relationship with the relics as one of "custodianship" and has sought to make them available for public viewing, ideally to a Buddhist audience, at no cost to the institutions borrowing them. Over the past six years, the gems have been displayed at museums around the world.
"An auction seems the fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists, and we are confident that Sotheby's will achieve that," said Peppé to BBC News, as reported by CBC News. He added, "So as our custodianship of the Piprahwa gem relics ends, I hope they will go to someone who really values them. And I hope that many people will be able to see the gems and connect with the Buddhists who gave them over 2,000 years ago, with our shared human experience of wonder and awe and with the Buddha and his teachings."
However, critics argue that the sale perpetuates colonial exploitation. According to CBC News, the Indian government has accused Sotheby's of "participating in continued colonial exploitation." The Ministry of Culture requested an apology and full disclosure of provenance documents from Sotheby's, which has assured that full attention is being given to this matter.
Religious leaders have also expressed their concerns. "We cannot put things which carry the respect of so many human beings up for sale," stated Yon Seng Yeath, chancellor of Preah Sihanouk Raja Buddhist University and head of Wat Ounalom in Cambodia. He added, "They are the representatives of the wisdom of Buddha."
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
