The Indian government has unveiled an array of Buddha-linked relics that were repatriated to the country after initially being set for sale at Sotheby’s last year.
It is the first time that these artifacts, known as the Piprahwa relics, are back in India in over a century. Some date as far back as the 6th century BCE.
Dozens of those artifacts are now on view in a show that opened at the Rai Pithora Cultural Complex in Delhi over the weekend. Titled “Light and the Lotus: Relics of the Awakened One,” the show features dozens of manuscripts, ritual objects, and more, including some objects on loan from the Indian Museum in Kolkata.
A description for the show supplied by the Indian government notes that the artifacts were uncovered at the Piprahwa archaeological site primarily in two digs: one in 1898, the other conducted between 1971 and 1975. The 1898 excavation was done on land claimed at the time by William Claxton Peppé, a British estate manager.
Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, called the inauguration of the exhibition “a very special day” on X.
Some of the gemstones included in the show were initially slated to be auctioned by Sotheby’s in May of last year. Ahead of the sale, India’s government claimed that Chris Peppé, William Claxton Peppé’s grandson, had no legal right to sell the stones. Moreover, by agreeing to sell the stones, Sotheby’s was “participating in continued colonial exploitation,” the city of New Delhi said.
Sotheby’s then postponed the sale before canceling it entirely in July. The auction house said that the decision had been made “with the agreement of the consignors” and that it had sought to “identify the best possible custodian for the Gems.”
On Saturday, during the unveiling of the show, Modi said the exhibition marked a moment of great importance to India. “This shared heritage of Lord Buddha is proof that India is not connected merely through politics, diplomacy, and economy, but through deeper bonds,” he said, according to the Hindu. “We are connected through mind and emotions, through faith and spirituality. India is not only the custodian of Lord Buddha’s sacred relics but also the living carrier of his tradition.”
His government has been sharply criticized, both within India and abroad, for weaponizing archaeological finds in his pursuit of upholding Hindu nationalism. In so doing, he has continually sought to position Indian cultural history as being rooted in Hinduism at the exclusion of other religions.
“These sacred relics of Lord Buddha are India’s heritage,” Modi said this weekend. “After a century-long wait, they have returned to the country… This exhibition is a great medium to connect the glory of our past with the dreams of our future. I appeal to people across the country to participate in this exhibition.”
