The jewels are delicate, some just millimeters in length, arranged in intricate patterns of circles and lines. Taken from British-occupied India in 1898, the jewels were discovered alongside bone and ash, said to be the remains of Buddha. The collection is perhaps one of the holiest relics in contemporary religion.
Now, it is up for sale, igniting a legal battle between the government of India and Sotheby’s, the international auction house set to sell the religious treasures in an auction. The artifacts are being sold on behalf of the English descendants of the explorer who dug them up more than 120 years ago.
On Monday, the Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal order, saying the relics should be returned to India for “preservation and religious veneration.”
The sale cuts to the heart of an uncomfortable question that has roiled post-imperial nations: How should priceless relics plundered generations ago from once-occupied territories be handled?
“We’re in this movement that’s long overdue, to rethink the status of culturally significant artwork,” said Ashley Thompson, a professor of Southeast Asian art at the University of London. “Who do they belong to? What are they worth? Can they even be considered as commodities?”
A host of countries have wrestled with such questions in recent years. Some American institutions have slowly begun returning relics to Indigenous tribes. Dutch museums have returned colonial-era artifacts to countries like Nigeria and Sri Lanka. Across Britain, museums have gradually been repatriating looted artifacts, including some related to Buddhist burial traditions.