Latest news with #PiprahwaGems
Saudi Gazette
08-05-2025
- Business
- Saudi Gazette
Sotheby's halts Buddha jewels auction after India threat
SINGAPORE — The auction house Sotheby's has postponed its sale in Hong Kong of hundreds of sacred jewels linked to the Buddha's remains, after a threat of legal action by the Indian government. The sale of the collection - described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era - had drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. India had said it offended the global Buddhist community. Sotheby's said the suspension would allow for discussions between the parties. A British official named William Claxton Peppé unearthed the relics in northern India nearly 130 years ago, alongside bone fragments identified as belonging to the Buddha himself. The auction of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, was due to take place on 7 May. In a letter to the auction house two days earlier, the Indian government said that the relics constituted "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions". A high-level Indian government delegation then held discussions with Sotheby's representatives on Tuesday. In an emailed statement, Sotheby's said that in light of the matters raised by India's government "and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction ... has been postponed". It said updates on the discussions would be shared "as appropriate". Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house by Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction is no longer available. Jewels linked to Buddha remains go to auction, sparking ethical debate William Claxton Peppé was an English estate manager who excavated a stupa at Piprahwa, just south of Lumbini, the believed birthplace of Buddha. He uncovered relics inscribed and consecrated nearly 2,000 years ago. The findings included nearly 1,800 gems, including rubies, topaz, sapphires and patterned gold sheets, stored inside a brick chamber. This site is now in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Sotheby's had said in February that the 1898 discovery ranked "among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time". — BBC
Express Tribune
07-05-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Buddha's jewels dubbed sacred, swerve auction
Auction house Sotheby's said on Wednesday that it had postponed the auction of a collection of hundreds of jewels linked to Buddha's corporeal relics after India's government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned, reported Reuters. The sale of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, has drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. India's government said in a May 5 letter to the auction house that the relics constituted "inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions." The auction was due to take place on Wednesday morning at Sotheby's headquarters in the Asian financial hub. Sotheby's said in an emailed statement that in light of the matters raised by India's government "and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction ... has been postponed. This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate." Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house on Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction was no longer available. Sotheby's had said in February that the 1898 discovery of the relics at Piprahwa in northern India ranked "among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time". India said that the proposed auction "offends the sentiments of over 500 million Buddhists worldwide," adding that the sale violated core Buddhist ethics and disrupted "sacred tradition." Earlier, as reported by the BBC, historians, Buddhist leaders, and scholars, all of whom questioned the ethics of commodifying sacred relics. "Are the relics of the Buddha a commodity that can be treated like art?" asked Naman Ahuja, an art historian based in Delhi. "If the seller is a custodian, then custodianship implies responsibility, not ownership." Critics also argued that had the sale gone through, it would have been part of a larger colonial legacy. "This auction continues the violence of extraction," said Ashley Thompson of SOAS and curator Conan Cheong. "It reduces consecrated relics to collectibles, ignoring their sacred meaning to millions of Buddhists." Questions remain over who gets to define what constitutes human remains. Many Buddhist practitioners believe the jewels, found with ashes and bone, are themselves part of the sanctified relics. As Ahuja noted, "These jewels are not just artifacts. They carry the weight of spiritual heritage and colonial history. Governments must act."
NBC News
07-05-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Auction of gems found with Buddha's remains is postponed after India objects
HONG KONG — Sotheby's has postponed the auction of a collection of ancient gems linked to the Buddha's remains after the Indian government threatened legal action and demanded their repatriation. The auction of the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha has been postponed 'with the agreement of the consignors,' three descendants of a British colonial landowner who excavated them, Sotheby's said in a statement Wednesday. 'This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate,' the auction house said. India had slammed the planned auction of the gems, which William Claxton Peppé dug up on his northern Indian estate in 1898, as offensive to the world's 500 million Buddhists and a violation of Indian and international law and United Nations conventions. The Piprahwa gemstones, part of a dazzling cache of more than 1,800 artifacts that are now mostly housed at the Indian Museum in Kolkata, are named after the town in what is now the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where they were buried in a stupa, or funerary monument, around 200-240 BC. The gems were said to be enshrined on top of the existing cremated remains of Buddha, who died around 200 years earlier, and many Buddhists believe they are imbued with his presence. The 334 gems had been scheduled to go on sale Wednesday in Hong Kong, where Sotheby's put them on display in a public exhibition. They were expected to sell for about 100 million Hong Kong dollars ($12.9 million). Secured in three glass cases and surrounded by a trove of other Buddhist artifacts, the display included shimmering penny-sized silver and gold-leaf stars embossed with symbols, along with pearls, beads and flowers cut from precious stones including amethyst, topaz, garnet, coral and crystal. 'Nothing of comparable importance in early Buddhism has ever appeared at auction,' Sotheby's said on its website, which on Wednesday was no longer promoting the sale. In a letter dated Monday and shared online, the Indian Ministry of Culture said the gems were sacred relics and 'not separable from the remains they accompany,' according to Buddhist theology and archaeological standards. 'To separate and sell them violates religious doctrine and international ethical norms for handling sacred remains,' the letter said. The sale was also condemned by Buddhist scholars and religious leaders. At the time of the discovery, the British Crown claimed the find under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act, giving the bones and ashes to Buddhist King Chulalongkorn of Thailand. But the Peppé family was allowed to keep a fifth of the relics, and they have been passed down for generations. 'I hope they will go to someone who really values them,' Chris Peppé, Peppé's great-grandson, wrote in a February piece for Sotheby's accompanying the auction catalogue. The Indian government said Peppé, a TV director and film editor based in Los Angeles, lacked authority to sell the gems and that by facilitating the sale, Sotheby's was 'participating in continued colonial exploitation.' It said if Peppé no longer wished to have custody of the gems, they should be offered first to India. Peppé did not respond to a request for comment. He told the BBC that his family had explored the possibility of donating the relics but had run into obstacles and that an auction seemed to be the 'fairest and most transparent way to transfer these relics to Buddhists.'
Business Recorder
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Sotheby's postpones auction of gems linked to Buddha after India threatens legal action
HONG KONG: Auction house Sotheby's said on Wednesday that it had postponed the auction of a collection of hundreds of jewels linked to Buddha's corporeal relics after India's government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned. The sale of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, has drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. India's government said in a May 5 letter to the auction house that the relics constituted 'inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions.' The auction was due to take place on Wednesday morning at Sotheby's headquarters in the Asian financial hub. Sotheby's said in an emailed statement that in light of the matters raised by India's government 'and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction … has been postponed. This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate.' Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house on Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction was no longer available. Sotheby's had said in February that the 1898 discovery of the relics at Piprahwa in northern India ranked 'among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time'. India said that the proposed auction 'offends the sentiments of over 500 million Buddhists worldwide,' adding that the sale violated core Buddhist ethics and disrupted 'sacred tradition.'
Indian Express
06-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
What are the Piprahwa relics, and why is India trying to stop their auction?
India is trying to stop the auction of an extraordinary historical treasure – relics that were found more than 125 years ago at an archaeological site intimately connected with the life of Lord Buddha, which was carried away by the British colonial landowner who discovered them. The relics, 'found buried together in reliquaries with the corporeal relics of the Historical Buddha' have been described by the auctioneer Sotheby's as being 'among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time'. On May 5, the Ministry of Culture served notice on Sotheby's and the family of William Claxton Peppé, the man who carried out the excavation at Piprahwa in Siddharthnagar district in UP close to the Nepal border, demanding 'immediate cessation' of the auction and repatriation of the relics to India. The Ministry posted on X that the auctioneer had 'responded to the legal notice with the assurance that full attention is being given to this matter'. However, on Tuesday evening, the auction website was live, and a clock was counting down to its scheduled beginning at 10.25 am in Hong Kong (about 8 am in India) on Wednesday (May 7). 'The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha', as Sotheby's has described the collection that is going under the hammer, is expected to fetch around HK $100 million. According to the Indian legal notice, the collection includes 'bone fragments, soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer, and offerings such as gold ornaments and gemstones', which were 'excavated…from the Piprahwa Stupa – widely identified as ancient Kapilavastu', the capital of the Shakya 'republic' of the 5th-6th centuries BCE where Prince Siddhartha lived before leaving home in his search for the truth. The relics, the notice says, are an 'inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community', and their sale 'violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions'. How were the relics discovered? In 1898, Peppé, an English estate manager and engineer, during an excavation found a stupa at Piprahwa, just south of Lumbini believed to be the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Upon further excavation, he discovered an enormous stone coffer, which contained gems, precious metals, and some of the cremated remains of the Buddha, who died about 480 BC. Also in Explained | Magnificent painting of Tipu's battle charge, why is it worth crores? 'William Peppé had seemingly unearthed one of the original eight stupas said to contain the ashes and bone fragments of the Buddha, distributed after his cremation. It is believed that the Buddha's own Sakya clan had built this stupa to honour the relics of their 'illustrious kinsman' Gautama Buddha,' according to the website of The Piprahwa Project which is run by Peppé's family. The British Crown claimed the found relics from Peppé under the 1878 Indian Treasure Trove Act. Most of the gems and precious metals (nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, topaz, sapphires, and patterned gold sheets) went to what is now the Indian Museum in Kolkata. However, a fifth of the total find — consisting of duplicates of the main collection — were retained by Peppé. It is these gems that are now being auctioned by Sotheby's. Why are there objections to the auction? Buddhist academics and monastic leaders have condemned the auctioning of the ancient Indian gem relics, asserting that they are part of Buddhist heritage. Amal Abeyawardene of London-based British MahaBodhi Society, told the BBC: 'The Buddha teaches us not to take other people's possessions without permission… Historical records indicate that the Sakyamuni clan were granted custody of these relics, as the Buddha emanated from their community. Their wish was for these relics to be preserved alongside adornments, such as these gems, so that they may be venerated in perpetuity by the Buddha's followers.' In its notice to Sotheby's and Chris Peppé, great-grandson of William, the Ministry of Culture said the gems 'are inseparable from the sacred relics and cannot be commodified'.
