Latest news with #Godrej Industries Group
The Guardian
31-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘A joyous day': India celebrates return of ancient gems linked to the Buddha
The Indian government has secured the repatriation of ancient gem relics linked to the Buddha's remains, two months after it halted their auction in Hong Kong. In a post on X, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, said the return of the Piprahwa gems after 127 years was 'a joyous day for our cultural heritage'. Sotheby's postponed the sale of the gems in May after the Indian culture ministry threatened to take legal action against the auction house in Indian and Hong Kong courts and through international bodies 'for violations of cultural heritage laws'. Many Buddhists believe the gems are imbued with the presence of the Buddha and should be treated as corporeal remains. The ministry said the precious artefacts would be formally unveiled during a special ceremony and placed on public display. The purchase of the gems was secured through a public-private partnership between the Indian government and Godrej Industries Group, it added. Modi wrote: 'It would make every Indian proud that the sacred Piprahwa relics of Bhagwan Buddha have come home after 127 long years. These sacred relics highlight India's close association with Bhagwan Buddha and his noble teachings. It also illustrates our commitment to preserving and protecting different aspects of our glorious culture.' The gems were sold by three descendants of William Claxton Peppé, a British colonial landowner who in 1898 excavated the gems on his estate in northern India. Their decision to auction the gems was met with an international outcry from Buddhist leaders, academics and devotees. The 334 precious stones, which were expected to sell at auction for about HK$100m (£9.7m), include amethysts, coral, garnets, pearls, rock crystals, shells and gold, either worked into pendants, beads and other ornaments or in their natural form. The gems were originally buried in a dome-shaped funerary monument called a stupa in Piprahwa, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India, in about 240-200BC when they were mixed with some of the cremated remains of the Buddha, who died in approximately 480BC. The British crown claimed Peppé's find under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act, with the bones and ash presented to the Buddhist monarch King Chulalongkorn of Siam. Most of the 1,800 gems went to what is now the Indian Museum in Kolkata, while Peppé was permitted to retain approximately a fifth of them. In a statement, Sotheby's said it was delighted to have facilitated the historic return of the gems to India. 'This completes our active search over the past two months to identify the best possible custodian for the gems. Today is the culmination of our close collaboration with the Peppé family, the government of India and the newly-announced owners of the gems – the Godrej Industries Group. Now concluded, this sale will see the permanent return of the Piprahwa Gems to India where they will be on public display for years to come,' it said. Pirojsha Godrej, the executive vice-chair of Godrej Industries Group, said: 'We are deeply honoured to contribute to this historic moment. The Piprahwa gems are not just artefacts, they are timeless symbols of peace, compassion and the shared heritage of humanity.' Chris Peppé, one of the former owners and the grandson of William Claxton Peppé, said his family shared Modi's excitement at the repatriation of the gems. 'We are happy that the true significance of the Piprahwa discovery has finally received the public recognition it always deserved and that the gems will be available for the public to see,' he added.
BBC News
31-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Piprahwa relics: Sotheby's returns Buddha jewels to India after uproar
Auction house Sotheby's has returned a set of sacred jewels believed to be linked to the Buddha's remains to India, after facing mounting pressure from the Indian government and global Buddhist Piprahwa Gems - described by archaeologists as one of the most astonishing finds of the modern era - were due to be auctioned in Hong Kong in May. But the sale was called off following diplomatic intervention and threats of legal action from Mumbai-based conglomerate Godrej Industries Group has acquired the jewels, Sotheby's said it was "delighted" to facilitate the return, following two months of negotiations involving the owner, the new buyer and the Indian government. The relics will now go on permanent public display in India, the auction house said. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the return on Wednesday, calling it a "proud and joyous moment" and a victory for the country's cultural heritage. The relics, he said on X, were coming home after 127 Industries Group, the buyer of the jewels, serves over 1.1 billion consumers worldwide across sectors including consumer goods, real estate, agriculture, finance, and chemicals, according to its website. Many of its products are household names in India."We are deeply honoured to contribute to this historic moment. The Piprahwa gems are not just artefacts - they are timeless symbols of peace, compassion, and the shared heritage of humanity," Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Vice Chairperson of Godrej Industries Group, was quoted as saying in a government press linked to Buddha remains go to auction, sparking ethical debateUnearthed in 1898 by English estate manager William Claxton Peppé from a stupa in Piprahwa in northern India, near the Buddha's birthplace, the cache included nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, sapphires and gold sheets - buried alongside bone fragments identified by an inscribed urn as belonging to the Buddha eventually handed most of the gems, relics and reliquaries to the colonial Indian government: the bone relics went to the Buddhist King of Siam (Rama V). Five relic urns, a stone chest and most other relics were sent to the Indian Museum in Kolkata - then the Imperial Museum of over a century, the rest of the dazzling jewels remained largely hidden in a British private collection. A set of 300 gems held by the Peppé family was publicly displayed at Sotheby's Hong Kong in February and May. Over the past six years, the gems have appeared in major exhibitions, including The Met in 2023. The family has also launched a website to share their consider the relics the shared heritage of the Buddha's Sakya clan and Buddhists worldwide. The bone fragments have since been distributed to countries like Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar, where they remain objects of veneration. The planned sale of the Buddha relics by Sotheby's in Hong Kong had sparked widespread ethical concerns, with scholars and Buddhist leaders questioning whether sacred objects - especially those linked to human remains - should be treated as commodities. Critics challenged the seller's authority to auction the relics, while defenders said a transparent sale was the fairest way to transfer custody. For many Buddhists, the jewels are inseparable from the sacred remains and meant to be venerated, not sold."Are the relics of the Buddha a commodity that can be treated like a work of art to be sold on the market?" Naman Ahuja, a Delhi-based art historian had told the BBC in May. "And since they aren't, how is the seller ethically authorised to auction them?"Since the seller is termed the 'custodian', I would like to ask – custodian on whose behalf? Does custodianship permit them now to sell these relics?"Chris Peppé, great-grandson of William, had told the BBC in May that the family looked into donating the relics, but all options presented problems and an auction seemed the "fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists".He said that in all the monasteries he had visited "no Buddhists regard these as corporeal relics"."A few Buddhist academics at western universities have recently offered a convoluted, fact-defying logic 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 7 May, Sotheby's postponed the auction of the jewels following media reports and concerns raised by the Indian government, citing the need for further discussions. A week later, it confirmed ongoing talks with India to find a mutually agreeable week, confirming the return of the jewels, Sotheby's said it was "grateful to the Peppé family for having safeguarded the gems and for having worked with us – and with the Government of India - in good faith to achieve this historic outcome".
