India Secures Postponement of Sotheby’s Auction of Sacred Piprahwa Buddhist Relics

New Delhi: In a significant diplomatic and cultural win, the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, has successfully secured the postponement of the auction of the sacred Piprahwa Buddhist relics, originally scheduled by Sotheby’s Hong Kong for May 7, 2025.

The relics, believed to include bone fragments of the Historical Buddha, along with soapstone and crystal caskets, a sandstone coffer, and ritual offerings such as gold ornaments and gemstones, were excavated in 1898 by British colonial-era official William Claxton Peppé at Piprahwa in present-day Uttar Pradesh. An inscription in Brahmi script on one of the caskets identifies the remains as those of the Buddha, deposited by the Sakya clan—his family.

While the majority of the relics were handed over to the Indian Museum, Kolkata, in 1899 and designated as ‘AA’ category antiquities under Indian law—prohibiting their sale or export—a selection of funerary gems retained by Peppé’s great-grandson, Chris Peppé, was recently listed for auction, sparking concern in India and among the global Buddhist community.

Upon learning about the auction through media reports, the Ministry of Culture launched swift and coordinated diplomatic, legal, and institutional actions:

• On May 2, the Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) formally requested the Consulate General of Hong Kong to halt the auction.
• On the same day, Culture Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat raised the issue with UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Lisa Nandy, underlining the religious and historical value of the relics.
• On May 5, the Ministry held a high-level review meeting and issued a legal notice to Sotheby’s representatives Ivy Wong and Julian King, and to Chris Peppé, demanding the immediate suspension of the auction.
• The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) was engaged to follow up with Indian embassies in the UK and Hong Kong.

Following these efforts, Sotheby’s Hong Kong acknowledged the legal notice and, on May 6, informed the Ministry that the auction was being postponed, with the relevant web page also removed from their official site.

A high-level Indian delegation, including the Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Joint Secretary (East Asia Division, MEA), and the Consul General of India to Hong Kong, met with Sotheby’s representatives in Hong Kong on May 6. The delegation emphasized that the relics were sacred to millions of Buddhists worldwide and were removed during the colonial era, thus rightfully belonging to India.

The Ministry’s efforts were bolstered by widespread support, including from India’s Permanent Representative to UNESCO, senior UNESCO official Krista Pikkat, Buddhist organizations across India, Sri Lanka, and other countries, and heritage scholar Prof. Naman Ahuja, who also submitted a representation through the Prime Minister’s public grievance portal.