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| Pearl-Carpet-of-Baroda.rugrag.com |
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| Pearl carpet of Baroda. internetstones.com |
It is not a figment of our imagination to talk about the opulence and extraordinarily stylish life of the Indian Maharajahs of the princely states during the colonial period, not withstanding the fact that much of their wealth, treasures and land had been surreptitiously taken away by the East India company' s corrupt officials and later (after 1858) by the Crown administration, London. A case in point is Kohinoor diamond and Timor ruby (actually Spinel), the latter being the largest in the world.
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| Timur Ruby in.pinterest.com |
Above image:The big stone id Timur ruby- 352.5 ct set by Garrards into a necklace for Queen Victoria 1853. The Koh-i-nûr diamond could occasionally take the place of the Timur Ruby. Owned by the ruler of Punjab; when the British annexed the Punjab in 1849, they took possession of the Timur ruby and the Koh-i-Noor diamond from Maharajah Duleep Singh, the last son of Maharajah Ranjit Singh.......
Having lost much of every thing they had owned, their pursuit of the most expensive cars like Rolls Royce (many owned 3 or more), jewels, gemstones, etc., never stopped and continued unabated. Among them, the rulers of Baroda - the Gaekwad Dynasty would always acquire the best- be they jewels or cars or residences, etc. Ruler Khande Rao Gaekwad's the Baroda Pearl necklace with 320 to 350 pearls, and three-tiered diamond necklace, with the cushion-cut "Star of the South" diamond and the pear-shaped "English Dresden" diamond below it, as the centerpiece of the necklace come to our mind and they have acclaimed international name. The creation of Pearl carpet- the most expensive one in the world is a proof of their imagination, obsession for gemstones and fabulous wealth. With highly skilled and experienced jewelry craftsmen, well trained in many catchy designs such as the Hindu or Mughal traditions at their disposal, they could go after well designed jewelry, etc., to suite their taste and royal status. The Pearl carpet made by the ruler of Baroda which now has a different owner, still carries the legacy of the erstwhile Gaekwad Dynasty of the Princely state of Baroda, India.
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| The Pearl carpet of Baroda, Gujarat, India pinrest com. |
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| Laxmi vilas palace, Baroda Maharajah's residence. pinrest com. |
01. As of to day the Baroda Pearl carpet specially commissioned by Maharajah Khande Rao Gaekwad of the princely state of Baroda (Vadodara), now in Gujarat is the most expensive one in the world. The ruler was a well-known connoisseurs and collectors of jewels and jewelry in the history
02. The jeweled carpet was meant to adore the tomb of prophet Mohamed (sal) in Medina, Saudi Arabia.
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| Pearl carpet of Baroda, India. pinrest com. |
03. Though commissioned in 1865 by the ruler, the extraordinarily talented jewelers and artisans of Baroda took five long years (work began in 1860) to complete the work as it was a complicated undertaking - eye-catching design work, careful setting of pearls and precious gems including hundreds of diamonds, etc., in the right place along with colored glass beads and gold filling between gaps. A blot of one or two in some places would mar the entire work that needed proper selection of pearls, etc., planning, cutting of stones in desired shape, etc. A time-consuming work that needed highly talented and skilled persons to do the job.
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| Pearl-Carpet-of-Baroda..reddit.com |
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| various state flags, Baroda . darahistoryofvado.in |
.05. The pearl carpet was on public display for the first time between 1902-03 at the Delhi Durbar hosted by Viceroy Lord Curzon to welcome King George V and his queen ,the Empress of India. in 1903, The then owner was Sita Devi, the queen of the royal family who took it with her to Monaco in 1946.
06. The pearl carpet was sold for about $5.46 million at an auction in Doha, Qatar -March 2009 . A detailed information on the Pearl Carpet of Baroda displayed at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Doha. An anonymous buyer bought it and became a part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Qatar.
07. The pearl carpet is said to measure approximately 5'8" x 8'8" and was valued at Rs 6,000,000 140 years ago (by current exchange rate ~$120,000 USD in 1865) according to India media reports,
08. The carpet was in public view for the second time in 1985 it was displayed at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
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| Baroda Maharajah, India.internetstones.com |
09. That the Pearl Carpet of Baroda has an estimated 1.5 million Basra pearl points out the on-going flourishing pearl trade that had existed in the past between the Indian subcontinent and the Persian Gulf. In the by-gone era the other sources of pearls on the international market were the Red Sea and the Gulf of Mannar (between Sri Lanka and Peninsular India). In the latter, harvesting of pearls from oysters does exist now, but on a low key level.
10. The natural seed Basra' pearl (known for size, luster and quality) used in the carpet were harvested in the southern Gulf region and along the coasts of Qatar and Bahrain. These were the breeding places of oysters that were the sources of high quality pearls The pearl markets of Basra, Bombay and London were active in those days. having international contact.
11. The total area of the carpet is c.45,670cm.2 - enough room to bring out an inspiring design making room for the three large diamond filled rosettes (c.440cm2) and 32 smaller rosettes; the total area embroidered with pearls and beads is about 44,500cm2
12. The carpet design is said to be based on the design of those prevalent during the Safavid period of Iran and the Mughal period of India.
13. The carpet has over 2.2 million pearls and beads decorating the field. the; total estimated weight of the pearls is 30,000 carat; .the rosettes are set with approximately 2,500 table cut and occasional rose cut diamonds, roughly 350-400 carats in total. All set in silver topped gold or possibly blackened gold; The carpet is made of superior quality diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies,
14. The highly embellished rectangular-shaped pearl carpet has a length of 2.64 meters (8 ft. 8 ins) and a width of 1.73 meters (5ft. 8 ins.), and is made of a combination of silk and deer hide. The carpet is closely embroidered, with colored glass beads ( to highlight the design) , and the spaces filled entirely with an estimated 1.5 to 2.0 million natural seed pearls. - "Basra Pearls".
15. Its price $5.46 million (2009 auction, Doha) beat the previous highest price paid for a carpet or rug: $4.5 million in June, 2008 at Christie’s International, New York, for a 17th-century Persian silk Isfahan rug that had belonged to the U.S. collector Doris Duke.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Carpet_of_Baroda
http://www.rugrag.com/post/Detail-Images-of-Pearl-Carpet-of-Baroda-Rare-Carpet-to-be-Auctioned.aspx
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2009/the-pearl-carpet-of-baroda-d09005.html
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2009/the-pearl-carpet-of-baroda-d09005.html
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