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Here at Rugs Direct, we’re used to dealing with a huge variety of rugs, but sometimes we hear of something very special. Take the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet, for example. This piece actually sold at auction in 2013 for a whopping $33.7 million. In today's post, we’ll find out exactly what makes this particular carpet so hugely valuable.
What is the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet?
Perhaps the best way to explain the incredible value of the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet is to describe its origins. In a nutshell, it’s a Persian rug (or carpet to some) which was created sometime in the 17th Century. The material is a wool pile set on a base of both cotton and silk. In the early 1900s, the rug was purchased in Paris by a well-known American industrialist known as William Clark. It was here that the rug picked up its current moniker. Upon Clark’s death in 1925, the rug was donated to the Corcoran Gallery of Art, where it remained until the auction in 2013.
Why is the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet so valuable?
The pattern of this rug is actually one of the driving forces behind its large price-tag – it is a completely unique piece and features a design which cannot be found on any other piece. The general pattern features vine-scroll and palmette, but the intricacy is truly second-to-none, and the actual carpet weaving itself is likewise incredibly unique. Many rug experts across the world hold the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet in high regard, seeing it as the epitome of both Persian rug visual design and physical manufacture.
The Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet by the numbers
The piece sold during a Sotheby’s auction for a grand total of $33,765,000. The rug’s dimensions are roughly 9ft by 6.5ft, meaning that this spectacular rug currently holds a value of over $600,000 per square foot. That fact alone makes this carpet the most valuable in the world, and the amusing thing is that nobody really knows who bought the piece. The winning bid during the auction came from an anonymous telephone bidder, so it remains something of a mystery where the rug currently resides – but you can bet it’s with a rather wealthy high-end rug collector. Let’s just hope it won’t see too much foot-traffic!
If you’d like to find a quality modern or traditional rug that doesn’t cost quite as much as the Clark Sickle-Leaf, you can find a huge selection in the Rugs Direct online rug shop right now.
