Sotheby's under fire for hosting 'unethical' auction of ancient jewels linked to Buddha
Sotheby's Hong Kong has come under fire from India 's government as the auction house prepares to host a sale of ancient jewels linked to Buddha this week.
The auction, which is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, is said to offer up a collection of 'gem relics' for sale in Hong Kong.
However, the Indian Ministry of Culture claims the auction violates Indian laws, international norms and United Nations conventions.
The organization has served a legal order demanding the halt of the sale.
Sotheby's listed the gems, which were discovered in an urn with Shakya clan's share of the bones of Shakyamuni Buddha, as 'unparalleled religious, archeological and historical importance.'
The gem relics are sacred to many Buddhists, who believe they are the corporeal remains of the Buddha, CNN reported.
A majority of the gems found were sent to the Indian Museum in Kolkata at the time of their discovery, but 'duplicates' were granted to William Claxton Peppé, a British colonial engineer who unearthed the relics.
Now, descendants of Peppé are auctioning off the sacred gems, to the fury of India's government and many Buddhists.
The country's Ministry of Culture said on Monday that it was taking 'swift and comprehensive' measures to 'immediately' halt the sale of the gems and 'highlight the illegality of the auction and ensure compliance with international laws.'
'We call upon Sotheby's Hong Kong to immediately withdraw the relics from the auction and cooperate with Indian authorities to return these sacred artifacts to their rightful place,' the ministry said in paperwork posted to Instagram.
The ministry said in the documents that the auction involves 'sacred Buddhist relics,' referred to as the duplicate jewels, and that it violates Indian and international laws as well as the United Nations conventions.
Further, the documents posted detail that per Buddhist religion, 'these sacred grave goods are inseparable from the sacred relics and cannot be commodified.'
The legal action taken against Sotheby's Hong Kong and Chris Peppé, the great-grandson of William Claxton Peppé, demands the immediate cancellation of the auction, repatriation of the relics to the Government of India, a public apology from Sotheby's and Peppé and full disclosure of any further relics in their possession.
Chris Peppé told the BBC that the family had looked into donating the relics, but that all options presented problems.
He added that the auction seemed to be the 'fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists,' and further told the outlet that in all the monasteries he had visited 'no Buddhists regard [the gems] are corporeal relics.'
'A few Buddhist academics at western universities have recently offered a convoluted, fact-defying logical whereby they may be regarded as such. It's an academic construct that is not shared by Buddhists in general who are familiar with the details of the find,' he added.
The relics were excavated in 1898 from Piprahwa Stupa by William Claxton Peppé and are 'part of India's and the global Buddhist community's spiritual and cultural heritage,' the ministry said.
The legal action taken against Sotheby's Hong Kong and Chris Peppé, the great-grandson of William Claxton Peppé, demands the immediate cancellation of the auction
Sotheby's responded to the legal notice regarding the motion the stop the auction with 'the assurance that full attention is being given to this matter,' the ministry's post said.
Julian King, Sotheby's international specialist and head of sale, further told the BBC: 'As is the case with any important items and collectibles that are offered for sale at Sotheby's, we conducted requisite due diligence, including in relation to authenticity and provenance, legality and other considerations in line with our policies and industry standards for artworks and treasures.'
India's Ministry of Culture nor Sotheby's immediately responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
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