Auction of Gems Found With Buddha's Remains Called Off

Sotheby's has postponed the planned auction of a collection of jewels found with what are believed to have been the cremated remains of Buddha. The sale, scheduled for May 7, was criticized by the Indian government and Buddhist leaders, reports the BBC. Nearly 1,800 items, including gemstones and patterned gold sheets, were discovered in 1898 by British colonial landowner William Claxton Peppe at a site in northern India. British authorities claimed the gems, and most of them were sent to a colonial museum in Kolkata, but Peppe was allowed to keep around a fifth of them. They're now held by his heirs, including LA-based director Chris Peppe.

India formally opposed the auction, arguing the relics represented the nation's "inalienable religious and cultural heritage" and that their sale would violate Indian and international laws, as well as UN conventions. Buddhist academics and monastic leaders had also criticized the planned sale, describing it as offensive to the worldwide Buddhist community. "It's quite galling to hear that sacred relics can be commodified," Naman Ahuja, a professor of Buddhist art in New Delhi, tells the CBC. "One didn't know that objects that were interred with the original ashes of the Buddha—you know, the offerings that pilgrims and people who actually belonged to the family of the Buddha had made—could be treated in this manner."

Sotheby's said it decided to postpone the auction after discussions with India and with the agreement of the consignors. The auction house stated that the move would allow time for further talks and that it would provide updates as needed. Information about the auction has been removed from the Sotheby's website. The gems were expected to fetch more than $12 million at auction, the Guardian reports. Before the sale was called off, Chris Peppe pledged to donate 25% of the proceeds to the Kolkata museum and another 25% to Buddhist institutions, though he insisted that he and his relatives had the right to sell the sacred gems. "Legally, the ownership is unchallenged," he said. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)