How the Buddhist relics Piprahwa Gems returned to India

Viceroy Elgin donated the sacred bones and ashes in the collection, believed to be of Lord Buddha himself, to Siamese King Rama V. Much of the remaining collection, including caskets, a coffer, and various jewels, were sent to the Imperial Museum (now Indian Museum) in Kolkata, where they remain till date.

But a part of the collection was passed down for generations in the Peppé family. In 2013, they came in possession of Chris Peppé who decided to put the antiquities up for auction. Sotheby’s listed an estimated selling price of over $100 million.

Pressure from New Delhi

On May 5, the Ministry of Culture served a legal notice to Sotheby’s and the Peppé family, demanding the “immediate cessation” of the auction, and repatriation of the relics to India. The Archaeological Survey of India too requested the Consulate General of Hong Kong to immediately stop the auction.

Pressure from New Delhi prompted Sotheby’s to halt the auction, originally slated for May 7. But India’s legal claim over the Piprawaha gems fell in a grey area. This is because the relics were excavated by Peppé on land allocated to him by the British government, and privately held for 127 years by his family, making it difficult to prove the illegality of their possession. Also, the gemstones were taken out of India long before India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 came into being.

Nonetheless, New Delhi kept pressure up on Sotheby’s, the UK, and the Peppé family. The Ministry asked the Financial Investigation Unit to coordinate with its counterpart in Hong Kong to highlight the alleged illegality of the auction and ensure compliance with international laws.

Godrej facilitates return

In the end, the collection of 349 gemstones was acquired by Indian industrialist Pirojsha Godrej for an undisclosed amount. While unconventional, this allowed the government to not have to make a commercial transaction for the antiquities, which would have raised ethical issues.

Godrej has agreed to loan a “large portion” of the collection to the National Museum for a period of five years, and display the entire collection for three months upon its arrival, Shekhawat said.