The upcoming June 11 auction comprises 120 lots with estimates starting from just Rs 15,000 (approximately USD 280) and going up to Rs 12,00,000 (approximately USD 22,500) according to auction house Bid & Hammer.
The collection includes tribal carpets from weaving regions outside India - the Caucasian mountains, which are between the Black and Caspian seas (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Daghestan); the Persian Zagros mountains area; the Kurdish enclaves of Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Syria; the high and middle Atlas mountains of Morocco; and some Central Asian republics such as Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.
"Almost all of the weaving groups from these regions were nomadic and migrated for climatic reasons, so weavings they produced are a fantastic potpourri of many diverse ethnicities, tribal lifestyles and indigenous customs," says an official from the auction house.
A 17th century Safavid dynasty, Imperial court carpet with a classic Persian design in fine handspun natural Himalayan silk is estimated between Rs 9,00,000