Magic Carpet Ride, Indeed!

Rug made entirely of jewels could fetch millions in Qatar

Check this out from Forbes.com:

When Sotheby's kicks off its inaugural series of four auctions in Doha, Qatar, on March 18, the worldwide auction house hopes to find a bright spot in a depressed art and collectibles market. Sotheby's stock has tumbled to a recent $9 from a high of $57 in October 2007.

One item on the block may help. A unique throw-rug-sized carpet made of pearls, diamonds, rubies and emeralds--the highlight of Sotheby's (nyse: BID - news - people ) Doha auctions--could fetch as much as $20 million, according to Sotheby's Henry Howard-Sneyd, the house's deputy chairman for Europe and Asia and international director of new markets.

Bidding will start at $5 million, says Howard-Sneyd, who has already fielded inquiries from private clients in India and the Middle East interested in the piece.

Crafted in the 1860s as a gift for the tomb of the Prophet Mohammad in Medina, Saudi Arabia, the carpet was created under the auspices of Gaekwar Kande Rao, the maharajah of Baroda, a former kingdom in northwest India that is now part of Gujarat state. It took five years of labor by hundreds of craftsmen. Some 2 million seed pearls and colored glass beads and gems set in a gold foil background make up the swirling rosette design.

The carpet was never bestowed on Muhammad's tomb and instead remained in the maharajah's family until 1988.

In the mid-20th century the carpet wound up in the hands of Sita Devi, a woman some refer to as the Wallis Simpson of India. Her husband, Prattapsingh Gaekwar, maharajah of Baroda, scandalized Indian society when he dumped his first wife in favor of the much younger Devi in 1943. Devi promptly transferred many of the family jewels to her homes in Paris and London, and later to Monaco, where the pair lived together before separating in 1956. The carpet remained in her estate until after her death in 1986.

Sotheby's is keeping mum about the seller except to say that the owner is a private entity.

While rival Christie's has set up shop in Dubai as an outpost for its auctions geared toward the Middle East market, Sotheby's is betting on Qatar, a tiny nation the size of Connecticut that sits on vast oil wealth. The auction house hopes to capitalize on the region's resource riches and its recent investment in art and culture.

(Photo from Sotheby's)