Clark Sickle Leaf Carpet

Courtesy corcoran gallery of art.

Clark sickle leaf carpet.

The underbidder edward c. Johnson ii was represented by oriental rug dealer peter pap who executed johnson s losing bids. Collection of william a. Sotheby s auction house said wednesday s price for the clark sickle leaf carpet was more than three times the previous auction record for a carpet.

Motif itself is undoubtedly a safavid rendition. This ancient persian rug which dates back to the 1650s sold for an incredible 33 7 million at sotheby s in new york. The clark sickle leaf carpet which was sold at sotheby s this past june demolished the previous record for an islamic carpet three times over at christie s in 2010 a 17th century kirman carpet set the record at 9 59 million while also setting the auction record for any islamic work of art. Clark collection which achieved a total of 43 8 million.

The 33 000 000 sale of the clark corcoran art gallery s sickle leaf carpet set a benchmark record for valuing an oriental rug that perhaps will never be equaled or beat even in inflation adjusted currency. The sickle leaf carpet sold to an anonymous telephone bidder. The sickle leaf design is the most rare of vase technique carpet patterns and of the extant pieces known the clark carpet appears to be the only one having a red ground.