Editor’s Note
This article details the historic return and exhibition of the Piprahwa gems, a collection of over 300 sacred Buddhist artifacts, in New Delhi. Their display marks a significant cultural homecoming, as these precious objects are being presented in India for the first time since their removal during the colonial period.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the event, highlighting the historical and spiritual importance of the collection of Buddhist gems. Ancient sacred gems linked to Buddha were presented in India for the first time since their extraction during the colonial era. The Piprahwa gems, a collection of over 300 precious stones and ornaments believed to have been buried alongside relics of the Buddha at a site in northern India, were formally displayed at an exhibition in New Delhi.
It added that they are on display “for the first time” since British excavations in 1898 unearthed them and they were subsequently dispersed around the world. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who inaugurated the exhibition, said it was “a very special day for those who are passionate about the history, culture, and ideals” of Buddha.
The gems, believed to date from around 200 BC, were discovered in 1898 by British colonial engineer William Claxton Peppe in Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh state. Indian authorities reported that an inscription on one of the chests found with the treasure confirmed the contents—which include bone fragments—as “relics of the Buddha.” While most were handed over to colonial authorities and some were housed in the Indian Museum in Calcutta, Peppe kept a treasure trove of jewels.
In May 2025, his great-grandson, Chris Peppe, put the gems up for sale. They were offered at auction by Sotheby’s in Hong Kong, with a starting price of $1.2 million, and experts suggested they could fetch ten times that amount. However, the auction was canceled after the Indian Ministry of Culture issued a legal order declaring the jewels as the “inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community.” The gems were then purchased by the Indian conglomerate Godrej Industries Group, in partnership with the Indian government. The sale price was not disclosed.
Chris Peppe noted that his family was happy that “the gems will be available to the public” to be seen.
The exhibition in New Delhi brings together the newly recovered jewels, other treasures stored in Calcutta, and relics from later excavations carried out in the 1970s. Hindu nationalist leader Modi has previously loaned parts of the Piprahwa collection for brief exhibitions in places with significant Buddhist populations, including Russia’s Kalmykia region and neighboring Bhutan. The Indian Ministry of Culture stated that the return of the gems is part of “Modi’s broader mission to recover and celebrate the ancient cultural and spiritual heritage of Bharat (India) from around the world.”
