Sotheby's Postpones Auction of Buddhist Relics Following India's Legal Action

Gems supposedly buried with Buddha are to be sold at auction – it’s a symptom of Buddhism’s ongoing commercialisation

Almost 2,000 years ago in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India, someone deposited a cache of gems inside a reliquary (a container for holy relics), along with some bone fragments and ash. The gems were precious, but the bones and ash even more so, for according to an inscription on the reliquary, they belonged to Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. The Piprahwa gems were placed along with the Buddha’s bodily relics (śarīra) as an offering inside a stūpa …

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...

Sotheby's Auction of Sacred Gemstones Found Next to Buddha’s Ashes is Halted as India Intervenes

Sotheby’s has halted their planned auction of a cache of gemstones that were found alongside the Buddha’s ashes and bone fragments after a formal complaint was raised by the Indian government. Known as the Buddha’s “gem relics,” those that were up for sale were a portion of the original archaeological discovery of 1,800 stones found […] The post Sotheby’s Auction of Sacred Gemstones Found Next to Buddha’s Ashes is Halted as India Intervenes appe…

Sotheby's postpones Buddha jewels auction after India threatens legal action

The jewels are described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era.

Sotheby’s postpones auction of Buddhist relics

The jewels are delicate, some just millimetres in length, arranged in intricate patterns of circles and lines. Taken from British-occupied India in 1898, they were discovered alongside bone and ash, said to be the remains of Buddha.

Buddha's jewels dubbed sacred, swerve auction

Auction house Sotheby's said on Wednesday that it had postponed the auction of a collection of hundreds of jewels linked to Buddha's corporeal relics after India's government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned, reported Reuters. The sale of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, has drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. I…