Unique Mughal Carpet Woven Around Circa 1650 Sells for GBP 5,442,000 Within Ten Minutes

LONDON

An extraordinarily rare Royal Mughal pashmina carpet created for the court of the Indian Emperor Shah Jahan, about 1650, sold at Christie's for £5,442,000 on 27 october, 2022 exceeding the low pre-sale estimate by more than double. The competitive telephone bidding on the Mughal carpet in the room lasted almost ten minutes.

The Mughal pashmina carpet is of "Lattice and Flower" design, exemplifying bright colour and pattern, made with the finest and most expensive materials, including pashmina goat hair sewn onto a beautiful silk base. It is one of just four pashmina carpets from the 17th century still in private hands.

The Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds' Auction featured oriental rugs and carpets.

Due to the fragility of the silk and the beautifully spun pashmina pile, very few specimens have survived, making a carpet of this size and condition an exceptionally rare survival from the golden period of Mughal carpet manufacture.

The carpet was the centrepiece of the Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, comprising Oriental Rugs and Carpets auction, which grossed a total of £15,998,352.

The auction consisted of 265 pieces, which included works of art, paintings, rugs, and manuscripts from Spain in the east to India in the west, dating from the 9th to the 20th centuries.