Sotheby’s in Hong Kong postponed an auction of gems with ties to early Buddhism after backlash from India’s government, which said the jewels were the country's religious and cultural heritage.
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Sotheby’s has postponed an auction of jewels associated with Buddha’s remains after the Indian government demanded the sale be halted.
The Piprahwa gems, which the auction house said dated back to around 200 B.C., were scheduled to go under the hammer on Wednesday. Sotheby's had said in February that their discovery ranked "among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time".
India's Ministry of Culture said in a Facebook post that it had issued a legal notice to Sotheby’s Hong Kong to demand the immediate halt of the sale, accusing the auction of violating “Indian laws, international norms and UN conventions.”
In its letter to Sotheby's Hong Kong dated Monday, posted on Facebook, it said the auction involves sacred Buddhist relics that constitute the inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. It demanded the repatriation of the relics to the Indian government and a public apology from the auction house and Chris Peppé - the great-grandson of British estate manager William Claxton Peppé, who excavated the relics.
The gems for auction were found buried together in reliquaries with the corporeal relics of the historical Buddha and discovered in northern India in 1898, the auction house said.
The nearly 1,800 gems, including rubies, sapphires and patterned gold sheets, were excavated at the Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure.
The Indian government warned in the letter that failure to comply would result in legal actions and public advocacy campaigns highlighting the auction house's role “in perpetuating colonial injustice and becoming a party to unethical sale of religious relics.”
Sotheby's announced the postponement in a statement, acknowledging the matters raised by the Indian government and saying it was done with the agreement of the consignors.
“This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate,” it said.
Some of Sotheby's webpages about the auction were no longer available.
The Indian Ministry of Culture said on Facebook on Wednesday it was “pleased to inform” that the auction was postponed after its intervention.
