Latest news with #Piprahwa
Asia Times
3 days ago
- General
- Asia Times
Righteous revolt against auctioning the Buddha's looted gems
The slick online catalogue entry for 'Premium Lot 1, The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha' on the Sotheby's Hong Kong website was abruptly replaced on May 7 with a single line notification: 'The auction has been postponed.' Shortly afterwards, the associated webpages went blank. The only evidence remaining on Sotheby's Hong Kong website was an entry on the Piprahwa gems' history and a short YouTube promotional clip for the sale (below). Sotheby's had first announced its intention to auction the relics on February 6, 2025. Discovered in northern India in 1898 and thought to date to the third century BC, it was estimated they would fetch up to HK$100 million (US$12.8 million). The collection was consigned by Chris Peppé on behalf of his family, who had inherited the relics from his great grandfather, William Caxton Peppé – a 19th-century British colonial landowner who owned an estate in India. Reaction was muted at first, but as a scholar who researches the early history and archaeology of Buddhism and issues surrounding loot and restitution, I was gravely concerned by this proposed sale. Fortunately, I was not alone, and thanks to detailed research of SOAS colleagues such as Conan Cheong, Ashley Thompson and Thai academic Pipad Krajaejun, as well as protests from Buddhist devotees worldwide, a groundswell of disapproval began to grow. A letter sent to Sotheby's by the British Maha Bodhi Society, and shared with me, states: Millions around the world, whether Buddhist or not, have religious and ethical concerns and believe that the sale of sacred items is morally wrong and offensive … Members of the Buddhist sangha [monkhood], as well as lay followers from all traditions, are appalled that the gems offered in devotional acts by the Buddha's own clan, have been separated from his corporeal remains and are now being sold to the highest bidder. This disapproval turned into a tidal wave on May 5, two days before the planned auction, with the intervention of the Indian government – which is now threatening legal action against both Sotheby's and the Peppé family, demanding that the relics be repatriated to India. In terms of his rights and those of his relatives to sell the relics, Chris Peppé previously had told the Guardian newspaper: 'Legally, the ownership is unchallenged.' Sotheby's confirmed to me that it and the Indian government are 'currently in discussions regarding the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, and are pleased to be working together to find the best possible outcome for all parties.' To understand how we reached this impasse, we must cast our eyes back to 19th-century British colonial India, then forward again to 2018-2023 and a number of high-profile exhibitions at some of the world's most prestigious museums. In 1898, the family's great-grandfather, William Caxton Peppé, excavated a Buddhist reliquary monument (known as a stupa) on his estate in Piprahwa, northern India. He uncovered what is now considered by scholars to be the most significant cache of Buddhist relics found in India. The discovery included five reliquary urns containing gems, ash and bone fragments. An inscription on one suggested the remains could be those of the historical Buddha, who is thought to have been cremated around 200 years prior to their burial. The Indian Treasure Trove Act of 1878 allowed Peppé to keep a portion referred to as 'duplicates' (an art-history term used to justify the dividing up of similar material from a hoard or archaeological site that is very much frowned upon today). The British authorities gifted the bones and ash to King Chulalongkorn of Siam, who enshrined them in Bangkok and distributed portions to other Buddhist nations. The majority of the 1,800 gems, meanwhile, had been deposited in the Indian Museum in Kolkata. It is a longstanding issue, however, that the bulk of this collection remains locked away in the museum safe, off-limits to Buddhists, the wider public, and scholars alike. Perhaps the publicity surrounding the Peppé portion of the reliquary contents might prompt that museum to review this policy after 120 years. About ten years ago, armed with his inherited share of the relics, Chris Peppé began reaching out to museums worldwide, proposing to loan them. This, he recently stated, was to make them accessible to Buddhist devotees and the general public alike. Five museums took him up on the offer and, starting in 2018, duly curated high-profile exhibitions around them or incorporated them into larger shows. Chief among these was the 2023 blockbuster Tree And Serpent: Early Buddhist Art of India at the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, where Peppé took part in the exhibition symposium, delivering a lecture on the relics. Objects with a history of celebrated exhibitions tend to reach higher prices at auction. Whether the Peppé family intentionally built up the Piprahwa exhibition history with the aim of eventually auctioning the relics is unclear. I contacted Chris Peppé directly and posed this question to him, but he declined to comment. Tellingly, the Sotheby's website included a scholarly article from 2023 in Orientations Magazine by John Guy, curator of the Tree and Serpent exhibition. But it was dated to February 2025, which perhaps inadvertently made it appear to have been written as an endorsement of the sale. In fact, the paper had been published to coincide with the exhibition. I contacted Guy about this, and he responded by saying: I regard the linking of my publication to the Sotheby's sale as highly inappropriate and this was done without my knowledge or consent. The Met's lawyers demanded that it be removed immediately, which was done, along with a written apology from Sotheby's. When I spoke to Nancy Wong at Sotheby's, she confirmed this, saying: 'We apologized and immediately removed the relevant reference from our website.' Given the events of the past few weeks, the Peppé family now finds themselves in a bind. With the Indian government engaged, it may not be long before Sotheby's drops them and the relics altogether. Despite their cultured facades and high-society veneers, auction houses are businesses, designed to make a profit, and any potential buyers may have been thoroughly scared off by recent events. It is hard, however, for me to have much sympathy for the family who could have prevented this whole affair by donating the relics to a Buddhist community or museum in the first place. Stephen A Murphy is Pratapaditya Pal Senior Lecturer in Curating and Museology of Asian Art, SOAS, University of London This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
After India's intervention, Sotheby's puts off relics auction
After India's intervention, Sotheby's puts off relics auction NEW DELHI: Sotheby's Hong Kong postponed the auction of Piprahwa Buddhist Relics scheduled for Wednesday following intervention by Indian govt which will now be holding discussions to seek repatriation of the relics to ministry of culture in a statement said that in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India and the ministry of external affairs, it will now engage all stakeholders to advance discussions on the repatriation of the culture ministry had on Monday said that it has issued a "legal notice to Sotheby's Hong Kong", seeking "immediate cessation of the auction" scheduled for Tuesday, a high-level delegation led by Union culture secretary including the joint secretary (East Asia Division, MEA) and the Consul General of India to Hong Kong, held discussions with Sotheby's representatives. The delegation highlighted that the relics were not ordinary artifacts but held sacred significance for millions of Buddhists worldwide. It was further emphasised that the relics rightfully belong to India, from where they were taken during the colonial era."Late Tuesday, Sotheby's Hong Kong informed via email that the auction of the Piprahwa relics was being postponed. The auction page was later removed from Sotheby's website," culture ministry stated.
Fashion Network
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Sotheby's postpones historical gems auction after India backlash
Sotheby's in Hong Kong postponed an auction of gems with ties to early Buddhism on Wednesday after opposition from India, which said the jewels were the country's religious and cultural heritage. The Piprahwa gems, which the auction house said dated back to around 200 BC and were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppe in northern India, were scheduled to go under the hammer in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal notice on Monday calling the jewels "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community" and said the sale violated Indian and international law. It asked for the auction to be cancelled and the jewels repatriated to India, as well as an apology and full disclosure of provenance documents, according to the notice posted on X. Sotheby's said on Wednesday morning that the auction has been postponed "in light of the matters raised by the Government of India and with the agreement of the consignors". "This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate," the auction house said in a statement. Sotheby's said the night before that the auction would "proceed as planned". The Indian Ministry of Culture wrote on X that it was "pleased to inform" readers that the auction was postponed following its intervention. The gems in the Hong Kong auction were part of a collection of close to 1,800 gems and precious metal sheets -- including amethysts, pearls and gold pieces worked into small beads. They were excavated at the Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure. Indian authorities said an inscription on one of the caskets confirms the contents -- which include bone fragments -- as "relics of the Buddha, deposited by the Sakya clan". In an article written for Sotheby's, Chris Peppe said his ancestor "gave the gems, the relics and the reliquaries to the Indian government" and that his family kept "a small portion" of the discovery. Copyright © 2025 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
Fashion Network
07-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion Network
Sotheby's postpones historical gems auction after India backlash
Sotheby's in Hong Kong postponed an auction of gems with ties to early Buddhism on Wednesday after opposition from India, which said the jewels were the country's religious and cultural heritage. The Piprahwa gems, which the auction house said dated back to around 200 BC and were unearthed in 1898 by Englishman William Claxton Peppe in northern India, were scheduled to go under the hammer in Hong Kong on Wednesday. The Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal notice on Monday calling the jewels "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community" and said the sale violated Indian and international law. It asked for the auction to be cancelled and the jewels repatriated to India, as well as an apology and full disclosure of provenance documents, according to the notice posted on X. Sotheby's said on Wednesday morning that the auction has been postponed "in light of the matters raised by the Government of India and with the agreement of the consignors". "This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate," the auction house said in a statement. Sotheby's said the night before that the auction would "proceed as planned". The Indian Ministry of Culture wrote on X that it was "pleased to inform" readers that the auction was postponed following its intervention. The gems in the Hong Kong auction were part of a collection of close to 1,800 gems and precious metal sheets -- including amethysts, pearls and gold pieces worked into small beads. They were excavated at the Piprahwa village near the Buddha's birthplace and have been attributed to a clan linked to the religious figure. Indian authorities said an inscription on one of the caskets confirms the contents -- which include bone fragments -- as "relics of the Buddha, deposited by the Sakya clan". In an article written for Sotheby's, Chris Peppe said his ancestor "gave the gems, the relics and the reliquaries to the Indian government" and that his family kept "a small portion" of the discovery.
Miami Herald
07-05-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Indian legal threat postpones Sotheby's auction of Piprahwa Buddhist relics
World Indian legal threat postpones Sotheby's auction of Piprahwa Buddhist relics Sotheby's postponed the auction of Piprahwa gems linked to the Buddha over a legal challenge from India. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI May 7 (UPI) -- Sotheby's Hong Kong auction of the Piprahwa gems linked to the Buddha, set for Wednesday, was postponed after India threatened legal action to repatriate the gems. "The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has successfully secured the postponement of the auction of the sacred Piprahwa Buddhist relics by Sotheby's Hong Kong, which was scheduled for May 7, 2025," India's Ministry of Culture said in a Wednesday statement. The ministry said the Piprahwa Relics "were not ordinary artifacts but held sacred significance for millions of Buddhists worldwide." The Indian statement added that the relics "rightfully belong to India, from where they were taken during the colonial era." The ministry said it would engage all stakeholders to advance discussions on the repatriation of the relics to India. "In light of the matters raised by the government of India and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction of the Piprahwa gems of the historical Buddha, scheduled for May 7, has been postponed. This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate," Sotheby's said in a statement. According to the ministry the Piprahwa Relics were excavated by William Claxton Peppe in 1898. The majority of the relics were transferred to the Indian Museum in Kolkata in 1899. The ministry said they are classified as 'AA' antiquities under Indian law, which bans their removal or sale. The gems that were to be auctioned by Chris Peppe are funerary gems. The Indian government sent a legal notice letter to Sotheby's demanding the auction be stopped, citing the relics cultural and religious significance. The letter said the sale "involves sacred Buddhist relics" that constitute "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community." Sale of the relics, India said, "violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions." The Piprahwa Relics include 332 gems that were to have had a starting bid of nearly $13 million. The relics consist of bone fragments, crystal and soapstone reliquaries as well as garnets, pearls, coral and amethysts. India's culture ministry said they were excavated from the Piprahwa Stupa, widely recognized as the birthplace of Buddha, and "hold immense historical and spiritual significance." The relics were found with ash and bones of the Buddha. The British crown took custody of the vast majority of 1800 gems excavated by the Peppe family, but the family was allowed to keep a fifth of the gems. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved. This story was originally published May 7, 2025 at 10:21 AM.
