An auction of Mahatma Gandhi's iconic round glasses, branded an "insult" by the independence leader's family, will go ahead, according to the New York-based auctioneers.
"The auction will held on Thursday," said Antiquorum Auctioneers spokesman Michelle Halpern. "There has been no change."
The auctioneer, Julien Schaerer, said that despite an outcry in India over the sale of the glasses, a watch, a pair of sandals and a plate and bowl belonging to Gandhi, no one had contacted him.
"We haven't had any direct interest from the Indian government or from any Indian representative," he said.
"It's in their hands. If some of those wealthy people decide to buy it and give it as a gift to the country, it can be done."
Antiquorum has refused to identify the person it says is the single, private owner of the rare pieces, currently on display in a glass case along with a white orchid.
The auction house has put an estimate of between €16,000 and €23,000 on the items, which will sell as one lot. Expectations are for a considerably higher price - partly thanks to the publicity from the row in India over the sale.
Gandhi's great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, says the auction is a "grave insult" and has launched a public appeal for funds to buy the items.
The Indian government also announced plans to try and return them to the country.
"Whatever can be done is being done to ensure that articles are not auctioned by involving all concerned stakeholders," Culture Minister Ambika Soni told the Press Trust of India news agency last week.
Gandhi, who eschewed material possessions, led India's nationalist movement against British rule and was assassinated in Delhi by a Hindu fanatic in 1948, a year after independence.
Mr Schaerer, Antiquorum's watches specialist, said that the silver pocket watch, made in about 1910, was "quite a modest" timepiece, although significant for having an alarm function.
Gandhi "was very precise and very concerned about being on time, about getting up for his morning prayers," remarked Mr Schaerer.
The metal-rimmed glasses have also attracted attention because Gandhi is believed to have given them to an army officer in the 1930s, describing them as the "eyes" that let him envision a free India.
Mr Schaerer said that the row in India was only adding to interest. "Purely on the commercial side, any publicity is good publicity, if you want to see it like that."
But he said that Antiquorum had no need to apologise for the sale because the items had been legally acquired by the present owner and their auction would actually give them a greater chance of being seen by the public.
In India "they feel those objects belong to the people, but in my mind the point is that these objects were in a private collection and not available to the public," he said.
"If a private buyer wants to donate it or loan it to a museum, we'd be the first to be happy."
In auctions running between tomorrow and Thursday, Anti-quorum will also be offering a watch that belonged to assassinated President John F. Kennedy before being given by his widow Jacqueline Kennedy to her second husband, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
Another item likely to attract attention is a gold Patek Philippe watch that belonged to New York mafia godfather Giuseppe Bonanno, a major figure in the Cosa Nostra's 1930s heyday.
Mr Schaerer said the watch, estimated to sell at between €4,000 and €6,300 was "one of the first with known godfather history to appear" at auction.
"It's very unusual for these kind of watches to show up," he said with a smile. "They usually disappear."