Embroidered with as many as one-and-a-half million of the fabled Basra pearls, harvested in the southern Gulf region and along the coasts of Qatar and Bahrain, the bejeweled masterpiece is traditionally believed to have been created as a gift for the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia and was commissioned by the Maharaja of Baroda, Gaekwar Kande Rao.
The intended gift was clearly never delivered as the Maharaja died before he made the donation and the carpet therefore remained in his family collection for more than 100 years.
The Pearl carpet broke the record held by a silk Isfahan carpet, Silk Safavid Carpet, which went under hammer for $4.45m at Christie's auction, last year.
At the Arts of the Islamic World session, a Safavid work, exhibited for the first time after having resurfaced from a private collection, went under hammer at US $3,442,500.
