Jewels interred with the Buddha from Piprahwa, India for sale A very rare and historical collection of jewels that were interred with the ashes of the Buddha are to be sold by a living relative of the men who excavated the Piprahwa Stupa in India in the late 180
News-Antique.com - Dec 12,2012 - A very rare and historical collection of jewels that were interred with the ashes of the Buddha are to be sold by a living relative of the men who excavated the Piprahwa Stupa in India in the late 1800s.
The Piprahwa Stupa is where the ashes of the Buddha were found and is the location of Kapilvastu in Northern India.
Neil Peppé, the grandson of William Claxton Peppé the manager of Birdpur estate in India during the British Raj, and who found and excavated the Piprahwa Stupa, is looking for a buyer for these rare and valuable jewels.
It was in the late 1800s that Neil's grandfather, having excavated a Stupa on his estate, discovered urns with the name of the Buddha inscribed on one of them. Interred in the urns were Buddha’s ashes and beautiful gold foil flowers and numerous exquisite semi-precious stones that had also been carved into flowers.
Most of these jewels and relics at the time of the excavation went to Indian museums, and some to temples in and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Siam (Thailand), including the Golden Mount Temple in Bangkok.
“The relics from the Piprahwa Stupa are famous all over the Buddhist world and have gone on numerous tours to different countries where many thousands of people have queued up to see them” says Neil proudly.
As a thank you to Neil's grandfather for finding and giving some of the relics and jewels to Siam, the then king (Rama V) gave Neil's grandfather a bespoke silver-gilt salver, which Neil still has to this day.
Although most of the relics and jewels were given away after the find, Neil's grandfather was given permission by the then Indian government to keep some of the relics and jewels, and it is these Neil now wishes to sell.
“The jewels are set in four boxes and are very rare and valuable pieces of Buddhist history” says Neil. “The fact that the jewels survived thousands of years and were found in the urns of the Buddhas’ ashes makes them very special.”
Neil hopes that whoever buys the jewels cherishes them in the same way his family has done for several generations.
Neil has created a website about his families’ involvement in the excavation of the Piprahwa Stupa which also includes photographs of the jewels.
If you want to get in touch with Neil please contact him using the following email address: neilpeppe@hotmail.co.uk
