" The pearl carpet of Baroda "....?
Knowledge Sharing ....
Its a beautiful hand made carpet, bejewelled and made in persian style in 1890s and used by a King in the royal palace of Lakshmi Vilas in Baroda/India ..............
Other than that ......"linking it to middle east and to Medina ....!" I suspects it is a marketing strategy or a tricks ......! or its a part of some hidden propaganda.....to promot baroda carpets in middle east..........?
...but still i am not sure about this....does anybody can share any facts abut this.....?
"http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1238654
Khander Rao wanted to offer the carpet at the tomb of Prophet Mohammed in Medina.According to Baroda folklore, the carpet never made it to its intended destination because of the opposition of Khander Rao's courtiers. Sources at the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Baroda where descendants of the erstwhile royal family of Baroda live, said that the members of the royal family had no knowledge of the 'status' of the Pearl Carpet."
In the early 1860’s, Maharaja Khande Rao of Baroda, who owned fabulous diamonds like the Star of the South, became possessed with a strange desire, that he must offer a priceless pearl carpet at the shrine of Prophet Mohammad in Medina. We do not know as to what made him take this vow. It appears that he wanted a pearl carpet, or chaddar, as it is reverentially called, to be gifted by him and spread over the Prophet’s tomb in the mosque at Medina in Arabia, just like the pearl carpet which was spread over the tomb of Mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal in the famous mausoleum of Taj Mahal at Agra.
But, this idea of a grand gift to an Islamic shrine by a Hindu sovereign was not liked by his palace officials and other courtiers. After all, Baroda was a Hindu state. But the Maharaja was adamant and by 1865 the carpet was ready. But after Maharaja Khande Rao died, the pearl carpet was not sent to Medina, and was retained as a state treasure in Baroda.
It was a carpet made of diamonds, pearls, rubies and emeralds and measured, roughly, seven and half feet by six feet. In 1879, Sir George Birdwood, the eminent connoisseur of Indian jewellery, called it "The most wonderful piece of embroidery ever known." Composed entirely of wrought pearls and precious stones disposed in Arabesque patterns, it was valued at Rs 6 million when made in 1865. Although the richest precious stones were worked into it, the effect was harmonious. When spread out in the sun, it seems suffused with an iridescent glow, as gratifying to the eyes as were the exquisite forms of its Arabesques. Its base was made of deerskin and silk stitched together. The design is mostly made of pearls with a restrained effect and with dignified, classic Arabesque-Mughal-derived designs".
It obviously worked it sold for $5.5 million
Keep Smiling :-) you never know who is looking
Anything to push up the price of the carpet and get the buy in of the Rich Sheikhs :)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7952003.stm
Yup its in the BBC too so must be nice...