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Sotheby's withdraws Sikh armour
from auction
WSN Bureau
LONDON:
Sotheby's
auction house on Monday, withdrew from its auction, a body armour
after protests from Sikh groups.
The 18th century
armour, estimated at 10-12,000 pounds, became controversial after
some Sikh cultural experts claimed it might have belonged to the
10th Sikh Guru, Gobind Singh.
The London
auctioneers later clarified that it did not belong to Guru Gobind
Singh; they said their catalogue only pointed to a stylistic
similarity to a full set of armour in possession of the Patiala
royal family which the family attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.
Sotheby's,
nevertheless, said it was withdrawing the item from the April 9
auction at the request of the seller, who wanted it acquired by a
member of the Sikh community.
"Sotheby's has
been asked by the consignor to arrange the acquisition of the lot by
a suitable member of the Sikh community," Sotheby's spokesman Simon
Warren said in a statement.
The Shiromani
Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC), the highest temporal body for
Sikhs in the country, had earlier threatened to sue the auction
house for using the Guru’s name. SGPC general secretary Sukhdev
Singh Bhor said the auction house had tried to play with the
sentiments of the Sikh community.
9
April
2008
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