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Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, May, 5: A collection of ancient jewels associated with Buddha’s remains is set for auction at Sotheby’s Hong Kong on Wednesday, igniting controversy over the ethical implications of selling items considered sacred by many Buddhists worldwide.
The collection, known as ‘The Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha, Mauryan Empire, Ashokan era, circa 240-200 BC’, includes nearly 1,800 pearls, rubies, sapphires, gold ornaments, and other rare stones, unearthed in 1898 from a brick stupa at Piprahwa in present-day Uttar Pradesh, India, just south of Lumbini, the Buddha’s birthplace. These precious items have remained in a British family’s possession for over a century.
William Claxton Peppé, an English estate manager who led the excavation, uncovered the relics that were consecrated ...
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