Rare 300-year-old rug on sale in Abu Dhabi

Art lovers could have the chance to own a rare Chinese rug dating back to more than 300 years when the item goes on sale in a major auction to open in Abu Dhabi on Friday night, organizers said on Thursday.

The auction will include 275 rare items covering various old civilizations around the world and will be held at the sprawling seaside Emirates Palace Hotel.

Two other valuable items include rare Koran and Bible books written more than 400 years ago along with other masterpieces from the orient and the West.

Art collectors seeking to attend the auction can view the items on Thursday and Friday ahead of the auction, which will start at 6.00 pm on Friday, according to its organizer, the Abu Dhabi-based Estuary Auctions, which is holding its fifth auction in the capital.

The Chinese rug, described by Estuary as one of the most valuable and rare items to go on auction in the region in many years, is dubbed the “Nine Dragons Carpet.”

“It dates back to late 17th or early 18th century and is a very important carpet of Dragons design. Woven from gilded silver thread and silk on cotton with a calligraphy reference, the carpet was made especially for the Forbidden City in Beijing,” Estuary said in a statement, adding that the rug is in brown, beige and blue colors.

It noted that the “The Forbidden City” was the Chinese Imperial Palace from the Ming Dynasty to end of the Qing Dynasty. Built in 1405-1420, it is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum.

The company, a private UAE venture, said auction for this item, measuring around 277x357 cm, could fetch Dh200,000.

Another major item in the auction is an “extremely rare and important” Koran written by the calligrapher Ali Bin Haider Amir Jan Al Hafedh using gold and natural dye colors dated 925 A.H (over 500 years ago), the statement said.

It said the unusual and unique leather cover was hand painted with gold colors and its borders are decorated with Islamic calligraphy, adding that the pages and the cover are in a very good condition. The piece could fetch Dh480,000-780,000.

A third masterpiece to be sold is an early 17th century “very rare, special and unique” Bible written completely in old Armenian script all the pages in vellum. It is very highly and finely detailed using natural dye colors containing colorful drawings, paintings, references and tables in a very fine condition. It could fetch Dh250,000-400,000.

According to the statement, the auction is one of the largest to be held in the region and it will include rugs, holy books, daggers, pottery, furniture items, music instruments, vases, transcripts, statues, paintings, gems, currency and calligraphy.