San Francisco Frontiers - Sotheby's postpones historical gems auction after India backlash

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.

R.Moore--SFF