A Buddhist gem collection has been returned to India after 127 years.
The Piprahwa Gems, a collection of more than 1800 gems including amethyst, topaz and pearls, dates from the Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, around 240-200 BCE.
BBC News reported auction house Sotheby’s said Mumbai-based conglomerate Godrej Industries Group has acquired the jewels.
Earlier this year, India’s government threatened legal action and demanded the jewels be returned after it was scheduled to be auctioned in Hong Kong by the auction house.
The gems were unearthed in 1898 by English estate manager William Claxton Peppé from a stupa in Piprahwa in northern India, near the Buddha’s birthplace.
