India Successfully Halts Sale of Sacred Buddha Relics in Hong Kong
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA, 7 May: India has successfully stopped Sotheby’s auction of sacred Buddha relics, with the global giant auction house postponing the sale of the relics scheduled to be auctioned on Wednesday in Hong Kong. This last-minute decision came after India accused Sotheby’s on Monday of perpetuating colonial exploitation and demanded the return of the relics to their rightful owner.
“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 7 May, has been postponed,” the auction house said in an announcement.
“This will allow for discussions between the parties, and we look forward to sharing any updates as appropriate.”
NDTV reported that Sotheby’s, one of the oldest and largest auction houses specialised in fine art, luxury items and collectables, has estimated the auction value of the items at around HK$ 100 million (around Rs 107 crore).
Earlier on Monday, the Indian Ministry of Culture has reportedly served a legal notice to Sotheby’s and Chris Pepper, the grandson of William Claxton Peppe, who excavated the relics in 1898, demanding immediate withdrawal of the relics from auction, stating, they “constitute inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the Global Buddhist community.”
The letter noted that the treasures discovered in India in 1898 during the British colonial rule granted temporary custody and not ownership to Mr Peppe under the Indian Treasure Trove Act of 1878. It clarified that custodianship does not grant the right to “alienate or misappropriate the asset.”
According to the Peppé family, the relics in question have been described as “duplicates” of precious stones, pearls and pieces of gold buried beside what were believed to be the Buddha’s ashes and bones.
However, in the legal notice, India has specifically stated that the use of the word “duplicate” in all aspects of these items is “misleading” and demanded clarification at the outset. It contended sacred artefacts have layers of deposits and “there is no reason to interpret the upper layer of deposits as being lesser, decoys or duplicates.”
Scholars have argued that the gems are part of the Buddha’s Śarīra – a term used to describe pearls and other precious objects found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. As such, they have maintained that the relics are “ imbued with the living presence of beings who have not truly died but have reached awakening.”
The gems were discovered by William Claxton Peppè, an English estate manager who excavated a stupa at Piprahwa, located south of Lumbini in present-day Uttar Pradesh state in India.
His findings included nearly 1800 gems, including rubies, topaz, sapphires and patterned gold sheets, stored inside a brick chamber. Large parts of the discovery were handed to the colonial Indian government, and a portion of one-fifth was kept by the family.
