A CRYSTAL casket believed to be over 2,300 years old was found along with four other caskets at during an excavation in 1898. The fish-shaped knob of the 5 cm x 10 cm casket contains precious gems and gold leaves. Another casket, found in a stone coffer buried 18 feet under the ground, has an inscription in Brahmi script that roughly translates as: “the casket containing the relics of Lord Buddha was donated by Sukirti brothers along with their sisters, sons and wives belonging to the Sakya clan”.
For more than 127 years, several such sacred Buddhist relics from the third century BC, including the five caskets, a sandstone coffer and 221 gems and jewels, were kept in the secure vaults of the Indian Museum in — conserved and preserved, never exposed to the public.
Now, for the first time ever, the Ministry of Culture is planning an exposition of these relics of Lord Buddha that were deposited by the Sakyas, his kin, and found in a stupa belonging to Emperor Ashoka, has learnt.
Sources said the venue is being worked out and it will most likely be held “at a secure and appropriate venue in the national capital” to ensure a greater degree of public participation. There’s a possibility that it could be held as early as next month although the dates have not been finalised yet, they said.
According to records, during the January 1898 excavation at a mound in Birdpur Estate, William Claxton Peppe — son of a British estate manager — unearthed an 18-foot shaft leading to a sandstone coffer containing the relics, which also included sacred bones and ashes. Recognising the religious importance of the relics, the then Viceroy of India, Lord Elgin II, donated the sacred bones and ashes to Siamese King Rama V. However, the caskets, coffer, and associated relics were retained in India, in the custody of the Imperial Museum, which is now known as the Indian Museum, Kolkata, its Director in-charge Arijit Dutta Choudhury told The Indian Express.
Recently, the Culture Ministry sent a legal notice to Sotheby’s Hong Kong to stop the auction of a part of the sacred relics that were held by Peppe’s family, and asked that the items be returned to India. Although the auction house stopped the auction — slated for May 7 — India’s legal claim on such items is yet to yield any result.
The attempted sale of the Piprahwa Buddhist relics at Sotheby’s has raised global concerns as it commodified the sacred remains believed to be of Lord Buddha. For many across the globe, such relics are not artefacts but living embodiments of faith, said Khushi Kesari, Program Officer-History Lab: Community, Heritage & Material Culture, Advanced Study Institute of Asia at SGT University in Gurugram.
The Sotheby’s incident has significant implications for post-colonial nations like India as it underscores a wider struggle to reclaim heritage looted or exported under colonial regimes, she said.
Despite being a ratified signatory of 1970 UNESCO Convention, India faces challenges, including the burden of proof and lack of bilateral treaties, to get back such relics, Kesari said. The fact that these relics are spread between private ownership and museum collections makes it difficult for India to bring them back, she said.
The majority of these relics were transferred to Kolkata’s Indian Museum in 1899, and are classified as ‘AA’ antiquities under Indian law, prohibiting their removal or sale. While a portion of the bone relics was gifted to the King of Siam, a selection retained by Peppé’s descendants were listed for auction.
Choudhury said the sacred relics and reliquaries at the Indian Museum have never been loaned or exhibited. “The Piprahwa relics housed in the Indian Museum, Kolkata are classified as *AA* category antiquities, denoting their exceptional historical, cultural, and religious significance. Due to their unique value, these artefacts are preserved with the highest standards of care in accordance with international museum practices,” he said.
Upon learning of the , the Culture Ministry had asked the Financial Investigation Unit (FIU) to coordinate with its counterpart in Hong Kong to highlight the illegality of the auction and ensure compliance with international laws. In its notice to Sotheby’s, the ministry had also reiterated its efforts “to protect India’s cultural heritage and ensure the repatriation of the Piprahwa Relics”.
“We call upon Sotheby’s Hong Kong to immediately withdraw the relics from auction and cooperate with Indian authorities to return these sacred artifacts to their rightful place,” it said in the notice.
However, experts believe that India’s claim over the Piprahwa relics may be legally complicated, as they were excavated by Peppe on land allocated to him by the British colonial government. The colonial-era excavation and subsequent private ownership by Peppe’s family complicate proof of illegal export, Kesari said. Also, this occurred long before India’s Antiquities and Art Treasures Act, 1972 came into effect.
