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Fine and Rare Wines
21 Nov 2009, San Francisco and Los Angeles |
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23 Nov 2009, 220 San Bruno Avenue, San Francisco |
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24 Nov 2009, Chester |
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24 Nov 2009, Chester |
British and Continental Collectable Ceramics
24 Nov 2009, Chester |
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24 Nov 2009, Chester |
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24 Nov 2009, Knightsbridge |
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24 Nov 2009, Knightsbridge |
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24 Nov 2009, Knightsbridge |
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Full sales schedule |
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Carpets
FINEST CARPET FRAGMENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD fetches £57,360
Bonhams, New Bond Street, 27 April, 2004
View catalogue
A rare fragment of carpet measuring just a few square inches and thought to be the finest in the world - sold for a staggering £57,360 by international fine art auctioneers Bonhams in London. A private bidder bought the fragment.
This fabulous Indian rarity, which once featured flowers and plants, was described by a leading carpet expert, Dr Steven Cohen before the sale as “a portion of the finest hand-knotted carpet in the history of the world.”
Dr Cohen, an authority on Indian carpets, examined the fabric, which was kept as a family curiosity in a drawer for nearly a century and described it as “the most finely woven classical period, knotted pile carpet in the world.” The carpet has an almost incredible pile density of over 2,000 knots to the square inch.
Mark Dance, Bonhams’ specialist in oriental carpets said: “It was almost impossible to value. Nothing like it has been sold before in the memory of our experts. It is a world-class object of museum quality.”
This tiny fragment comes from what was a Mughal carpet made around 1630 and would have been similar to a prayer mat but more probably used for decoration, possibly hung behind an emperor’s throne. Fragments of the same carpet survive in museums - the largest piece is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York - while others exist in Boston and Kuwait.
It is believed that the carpet may have been cut up in the 19th century when a restorer cut away the worst-damaged pieces and sold the best fragment.
A family legend as to how the carpet came to its present owners says that a young assistant was sent to India to buy carpets. He returned having spent all his funds on this one fragment to be praised for his judgement instead of being sacked.
Further information: Josephine Olley +44 (0)207 468 8229 or press@bonhams.com
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques remaining with British ownership. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America and in August this year, Goodmans, a leading Australian fine art and antiques auctioneer with salerooms in Sydney, joined the Bonhams Group of Companies. Today, Bonhams is the third largest and fastest growing auction house in the world. It offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further 10 throughout the UK. Sales are also held in Switzerland, Monaco, Germany and Australia and with the acquisition of Butterfields, it has salerooms in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Bonhams also has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives offering sales advice and valuation services in 14 countries. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of more than 40 Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.
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