The Pearl Carpet of Baroda is currently the most expensive rug in the world, selling for close to a whopping $5.5 million (US) at a Qatar Sotheby’s auction in March of this year to an unknown buyer. The exquisite floor covering snatched the title away from a 17th century Persian Isfahan rug made of silk that sold for $4.5 million (US) in June of last year.
The Pearl Carpet of Baroda
The Pearl Carpet of Baroda was crafted in India at the request of Khanda Rao Gaekwad, the Maharajah of Baroda, in 1865. It is believed to have been a gift intended for the tomb of the prophet Mohammed, at Medina. However, by the time the rug was completed, it was never delivered due to the Maharajah’s death. The carpet remained in the family treasury.
Measuring 5′8″ by 8′8″, the Pearl Carpet of Baroda is needless to say, stunning. Unlike the second most expensive rug in the world, the aforementioned Persian Isfahan rug, it is not composed mainly of fabric. Rather, it features almost 2 million pearls (Basra), a sparkling array of jewels including diamonds, sapphires, rubies and emeralds, and is gold embossed. With a floral motif and three rosettes, red and blue dominate its colouring.
The rug was part of Arts of the Islamic World, an inaugural auction of 18 lots.
image courtesy of bloomberg.com