HONG KONG (AP) — Sotheby's stopped selling some jewels on Wednesday. People said these jewels were connected to Buddha's remains. The government in India did not want the sale and asked them to stop.

The company selling the jewels said they were found with old things from Buddha in northern India in 1898. They were about 2,200 years old.

But the Ministry of Culture in India said on Facebook that they sent a legal letter to Sotheby's in Hong Kong. They told them to stop selling the item right away. They said the sale broke 'Indian laws, international rules, and UN agreements.'

In a letter to Sotheby's Hong Kong on Monday, which they put on Facebook, the group said the sale includes holy Buddhist things. They said these things are an important part of the religious and cultural past of India and all the Buddhist people in the world. They asked for the things to be sent back to the Indian government. They also wanted Sotheby's and Chris Peppé to say sorry in public.

Peppé is the great-grandson of William Peppé. William Peppé was a British man who found the relics.

The Indian government sent a letter saying that if the auction house did not obey, they would go to court. They would also tell people that the auction house was helping to keep unfair things from the past alive and was wrong to sell religious objects.

Sotheby's said they would show the artwork later. They explained that they knew about the problems the Indian government mentioned. They also said the people who gave them the artwork agreed to this change.

This will help the groups talk to each other, and we will tell you about any news when it is right.

Some pages on the Sotheby's website about the sale were not there on Wednesday.

India's culture ministry said on Facebook on Wednesday that they were happy because the sale was stopped after they helped.