Latest news with #BuddhistRelics
New York Times
31-07-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Ancient Gems Linked to Buddha Are Returned to India
The Piprahwa Gems, Buddhist relics taken by an English explorer from a sacred burial ground in British-occupied India in 1898, have been repatriated and will go on display to the public, the Indian government announced on Wednesday. The gems are back in their 'rightful home of India' according to a statement by the Indian culture ministry. The Indian government secured their return after intervening in a planned auction of the gems. They had been scheduled to be sold at a Sotheby's auction in Hong Kong in May on behalf of the English descendants of William Claxton Peppé, who dug them up more than 120 years ago. Instead, an Indian conglomerate, Godrej Industries Group, bought the gems, according to a statement from Sotheby's. The auction house did not disclose the sale price. In its announcement, India's ministry of culture praised its collaboration with Godrej Industries as an 'exemplary public-private partnership,' without giving further detail. The collection comprises more than 300 delicate gems — some just millimeters in length, arranged in intricate patterns of circles and lines. Found alongside bone and ash said to be remains of Buddha, they are among the holiest relics in contemporary religion. Sotheby's postponed its May auction after India's culture ministry issued a legal order saying that the Peppé family did not have the authority to sell the objects and that the relics should be returned to India for 'preservation and religious veneration.' The relics were 'part of India's and the global Buddhist community's spiritual and cultural heritage,' the Indian culture ministry said at the time. 'Their sale violates Indian laws, international norms, and U.N. conventions.' On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India wrote on social media that it was 'a joyous day' for his country. 'These sacred relics highlight India's close association with Bhagwan Buddha and his noble teachings,' he wrote, using a Hindi word for god. Mr. Peppé found the artifacts while excavating land in Piprahwa, a village in northern India, at a sacred burial ground known as a stupa near where Buddha is believed to have been buried. He turned over much of the find to the British state, which occupied India at the time. He donated other parts to scholars and museums, including the Indian Museum in Kolkata, but was permitted to keep some relics, which were passed down in his family. Members of the Peppé family said in a statement shared by Sotheby's that they were excited to return the gems to India, where they would join the collection already on display at the Kolkata museum. 'We are happy that the true significance of the Piprahwa discovery has finally received the public recognition it always deserved,' the statement said.
France 24
30-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
India secures return of ancient Buddhist gems
The Piprahwa gems date back to around the third century BC and were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppe in northern India. India's culture ministry said it secured the return of the gems, which had been slated for auction in Hong Kong in May, in partnership with Mumbai-based conglomerate Godrej Industries Group. "These relics have long held immense spiritual value for the global Buddhist community and represent one of the most important archaeological discoveries in India's history," the ministry said in a statement. The gems will be put on public display soon, it added, without giving further details. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed the recovery as a "joyous" occasion for India's cultural heritage. "It may be recalled that the Piprahwa relics were discovered in 1898 but were taken away from India during the colonial period," he said in a post on social media. "When they appeared in an international auction earlier this year, we worked to ensure they returned home," he added. "I appreciate all those who have been involved in this effort." In May, the culture ministry issued a legal notice to Sotheby's, the auction house that had organised the sale of the gems, demanding it be cancelled and the relics returned to India. The ministry also called for an apology and full disclosure of provenance documents. Sotheby's postponed the auction in response. The auction house said in a statement Wednesday that it was "delighted to have facilitated the return of the Piprahwa Gems to India". "Sotheby's is thrilled to have played such a central role in securing this historic outcome," it added. The gems were excavated at the Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure. "This is one of the most significant instances of repatriation of our lost heritage," culture minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said.
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Sotheby's calls last-minute halt to Hong Kong sale of Buddha relics after India intervenes
Auctioneers Sotheby's announced on Wednesday morning that it was postponing the sale in Hong Kong later that day of sacred Buddhist relics in response to a demand from the Indian government. Advertisement New Delhi also demanded the immediate repatriation of the relics. The 'Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha' were to have been one of the highlights of a fortnight of auctions ongoing in Hong Kong that are focused on Asian works of art. According to a member of the family which consigned them for auction, the relics in question are 'duplicates' of precious stones, pearls and pieces of gold believed to have been buried around 2,000 years ago with the corporeal remains of the Buddha. Carved into floral and other motifs, they were unearthed in 1898 in what today is Uttar Pradesh state in India by a British engineer, William Claxton Peppé, in a stupa near the Buddha's birthplace. Advertisement They were found with ash and bones which an inscription in the ancient Pali script described as the 'relics of the Buddha, the August One'.
