HONG KONG (AP) — Sotheby's, acceding to the vehement objections and explicit injunction from the Indian government, on Wednesday elected to postpone an auction showcasing jewels ostensibly connected with the venerated relics of the Buddha.

The auction house stated that the gems earmarked for sale were exhumed in 1898 in northern India, interred en masse within reliquaries alongside the corporeal vestiges of the historical Buddha, their provenance traceable to circa 240-200 BC.

Notwithstanding, the Ministry of Culture in India declared in a Facebook missive on Tuesday that it had served a statutory injunction upon Sotheby's Hong Kong, mandating the prompt cessation of the auction, alleging the sale constituted a contravention of "Indian statutes, international protocols, and UN covenants."

In its missive to Sotheby’s Hong Kong, dispatched on Monday and subsequently promulgated via Facebook, it posited that the purported auction encompasses sacrosanct Buddhist artefacts, integral and inalienable components of India's religious and cultural patrimony, and indeed, that of the global Buddhist fellowship; consequently, it vociferously demanded the immediate repatriation of said relics to the custodianship of the Indian government and the issuance of an unequivocal public mea culpa from both the auction house and Mr. Chris Peppé.

Peppé is a scion of William Peppé, the British excavator responsible for unearthing the relics.

The Indian government, in its formal communication, issued a caveat that non-compliance would invariably trigger juridical proceedings and extensive public relations initiatives intended to underscore the auction house’s complicity “in perpetuating colonial injustice and becoming an accessory to the unconscionable vending of sacrosanct artefacts.”

Sotheby's issued a statement on Wednesday declaring the postponement, acknowledging the issues raised by the Indian government and affirming this action was taken in consonance with the consignors.

This will serve as a conduit for interlocutory engagement between the principal parties, and we eagerly anticipate disseminating any pertinent updates as warranted.

By Wednesday, a portion of Sotheby's web presence concerning the auction had ceased to be retrievable.

The Indian Ministry of Culture, in a communique disseminated via its official Facebook page on Wednesday, expressed its "singular pleasure" in announcing the deferral of the auction, a consequence directly attributable to its decisive intervention.