Record price for Persian rug at Sotheby’s auction

A stunning Safavid rug from late 16th or early 17th century Persia sold for GBP 2,729,250 Wednesday afternoon at Sotheby’s in London. The rug was purchased by an anonymous buyer after a prolonged contest in which at least five bidders vied for the piece. The price of the silk and metal-thread prayer rug was over 20 times the pre-sale estimate of GBP 80,000 – 120,000.
The inscriptions on this fabulous prayer rug of remarkable quality and condition suggest that it may have been a diplomatic gift from the Safavid Persian court to the Ottoman Turks, indeed possibly even on the occasion of the Peace Treaty between the two empires in 1590, from the court of Shah ‘Abbas to the Ottoman Sultan Murad III (r.1574-95).
The rug was part of Sotheby’s sale of Arts of the Islamic World that totalled GBP 7.9 mln, well in excess of pre-sale expectations. Discussing the rug, Edward Gibbs, Head of the Middle East and India Department at Sotheby’s said, “the price of 2.7 million pounds – many multiples of the top estimate – is a testament to the quality and rarity of this stunning piece which was the highlight of our Arts of the Islamic World sale in London.”