Items which once belonged to Mahatma Gandhi—including his sandals, pocket watch, spectacles, an eating bowl, plate, and results of a blood test—will be auctioned off tomorrow in Manhattan through Antiquorum, a leading watch auctioneer. The memorabilia is owned by James Otis, an LA-based documentary filmmaker who has gradually amassed the possessions, many of which were given away to various individuals by Gandhi himself during the course of his life.
But according to Market Watch, Gandhi's descendants have been pressuring the Indian government to stop the auction, and a high court in India issued an interim stay on Tuesday, under the argument that the items "were of great heritage value and were considered to be legitimately owned by India."
But Julien Schaerer of Antiquorum tells City Room the auction will go on: "I believe they don’t have jurisdiction in the United States. It’s important to emphasize, they were rightfully acquired and already out of India." The entire collection has a reserve price of $20,000 to $30,000.
Otis says the Indian government did offer to buy the lot, but the price was too low; he tells the Economic Times, "I would be very happy to welcome any serious offers from the Indian government and it might not even have to be financial. There are things they could offer in terms of helping the people of India that I would more than welcome, for example improving health care for the poorest Indians in exchange for the items." Which is obviously a deal breaker for the Indian government!
