At one point during Sotheby's-New York June 5, 2013 auction the auctioneer, Mary Jo Otsea, laughed after misstating a bid for $16 million as $16,000. "I'm not used to this" she said, and the crowd laughed with her. By the time the bidding was done a new record for the most expensive Oriental rug in the world had been set with the sale of a 17th century Persian Kerman for $33,765,000.
The Clark Sickle Leaf Vase Carpet (6'9" x 8'5") that has entranced collectors and scholars for decades was one of 25 classical 16th and 17th century pieces from the collection of the "Copper King" in New York at Sotheby's (listing) . The auction estimate for the rug of $5,000,000 to $7,000,000 was well below the prior record but passed well into uncharted territory for an Oriental rug to finish at more than three times the previous benchmark.
The rugs were owned by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC but are best known for...