By
AFP
Published
May 7, 2025
Sotheby's in Hong Kong postponed a auction of gems with links with early Buddhism on Wednesday after the opposition of India, which said that jewels were the religious and cultural heritage of the country.
The Piprahwa gems, that the auction house said it dates back to around 200 a. C. And they were unearthed in 1898 by the Englishman William Clxton Peppe in northern India, they were scheduled to go to the hammer in Hong Kong on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Culture of India issued a legal notice on Monday by calling the jewels “inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community” and said that the sale violated Indian and international law.
He asked that the auction be canceled and the repatriated jewels to India, as well as an apology and a complete dissemination of documents of origin, according to the notice published in X.
Sotheby's said Wednesday morning that the auction has postponed “in the light of the issues raised by the government of India and with the agreement of the consigners.”
“This will allow discussions between the parties, and we hope to share any update as appropriate,” said the auction house in a statement.
Sotheby's said the night before the auction “would proceed as planned.”
The Ministry of Culture of India wrote in X that it was “pleased to inform” readers that the auction was postponed after their intervention.
The gems in the Hong Kong auction were part of a collection of about 1,800 gems and leaves of precious metals, including amethyst, pearls and gold pieces worked in small accounts.
They were excavated in the Piprahwa village near the birthplace of the Buddha and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure.
The Indian authorities said that an inscription in one of the coffins confirms the content, which includes bone fragments, such as “Buddha relics, deposited by the Sakya clan.”
In an article written for Sotheby's, Chris Peppe said that his ancestor “gave the gems, relics and the reliquaries to the Indian government” and that his family maintained “a small portion” of the discovery.
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