April 16, 2009

A pearl carpet?...

The Telegraph reported on 20th March 2009,
"A carpet studded with pearls and gems and commissioned for the tomb of the Prophet Mohammed has sold for £3.8m at an auction in Doha, Qatar.

The Pearl Carpet of Baroda, now the world's most expensive, is believed to have been created in India more than 100 years ago as a gift to the tomb in the holy city of Medina, Saudi Arabia.

Sotheby's said it had expected bidding for the Pearl Carpet of Baroda to start at $5 million and believed it would fetch a much higher price. Earlier estimates anticipated the lot fetching as much as £14.5 million. But the starting price was brought down to $4.5 million because there were few buyers than expected. It finally sold for almost $5.5 million.

The carpet is traditionally believed to have been commissioned by the maharajah of Baroda as a gift for the prophet's tomb. The maharajah died before the donation was made and the pearl carpet remained in his family.

It has an entirely embellished surface, studded with an estimated two million natural seed pearls known as basra which were harvested from the waters of the Gulf."

If you love pearls but prefer to wear them than walk over them, or your budget doesn't quite stretch as far as £3.8m, take a look at Mai Pearls.

Posted: April 16, 2009 11:05 AM