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India seeks return of ancient gems after preventing auction

The Guardian

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May 08, 2025

The Indian government is seeking to repatriate ancient gem relics linked to the Buddha's remains after halting their auction in Hong Kong.

- David Batty

India seeks return of ancient gems after preventing auction

Sotheby's postponed the sale of the Piprahwa gems, due yesterday, after the Ministry of Culture threatened to take legal action against the auction house in courts in India and Hong Kong and through international bodies "for violations of cultural heritage laws".

The ministry said it would now discuss repatriation of the gems to India with Sotheby's and the sellers, three descendants of William Claxton Peppé, a British colonial landowner who in 1898 excavated the gems on his estate in northern India.

In a legal notice issued to Sotheby's on Monday, the ministry told the auction house that the gems should be treated as the sacred body of the Buddha and it would be "participating in continued colonial exploitation" if the sale went ahead.

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