This particular rug is the most expensive rug to ever have been sold at auction. The carpet is dated somewhere between 1600 and 1650 and is Persian – very desirable in the world of luxury rugs. Sotheby’s in New York sold this rug for $33.7 million in June of last year.
The price was estimated between $5 and $7 million but the price quickly rose at auction. This rug is the only known rug with a red backdrop that contains this particular design and is weaved in this particular fashion. Before being sold at auction, the rug was on display in multiple museums including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Textile Museum, the Asia House Gallery, and Fogg Art Museum.

This rug, dubbed the “most expensive Islamic work of art ever sold,” sold at Christies in London to an anonymous phone bidder. The sales price was in pounds, but the price equates to roughly $9.59 million – about 20 times its estimated sales price.
The rug, from the mid- 17th century, is bold and vibrant and is an excellent display of classic Persian rug-making techniques. It is long and narrow, measuring 11 feet 1 inch by 5 feet.
The elegant coloring and high quality of preservation certainly contributes to making this rug one of the most expensive rugs ever sold.

This unique rug sold at Sotheby’s Doha for over $5 million, securing its place on our list of the world’s most expensive rugs.
What sets this particular rug apart is the material it is made of and adorned with. The rug is primarily made up of silk and fine deer hide and is accented with Basra pearls, English colored-glass beads, approximately 2,500 diamonds set in silver, as well as rubies, sapphires, and emeralds all set in gold.
The intricacy of these stones as well as their inherent value as a precious stone contribute to making this one of the most expensive rugs in the world.

This colorful, knot-dense rug from Central Asia sold at Christie’s in New York for over $4 million. It was handmade in the 1600s and is made of pure silk.
Rugs from this region are very desirable as they are of notably high quality. Persian art historian Arthur Pope held the rug in high regard. “Nothing further in the way of refinement, imagination, perfection of technique, or infinite charm of color was produced in this period,” he said.
In addition to being of a high historic value, the rug was even previously owned by Doris Duke.
When you do the math, the sale price of this rug equates to about $105,000 per square foot.

Infamous rug artist Pierre-Josse Perrot designed three carpets of the same design – his last sold at Christie’s in New York for over $4 million. These designs were originally intended for the Crown Furniture Repository in France and were woven sometime between 1740 and 1750.
Christie’s provided provenance information for the item.
“Probably commissioned by the Royal Garde-Meuble de la Couronne from the Duvivier workshops at the Savonnerie between 1745 and 1775. Probably one of the many carpets sold from the Garde-Meuble at the time of the Revolution to settle the debts of the major suppliers to the state such as Chapeaurouge or Bourdillon. Almost certainly purchased in the 1950s or 1960s and thence by descent.”

This rug outperformed its estimated sale price by a long shot at an auction at Sotheby’s London. The piece was estimated at $127,368 to $191,052 but ended up selling for over $4 million.
The carpet is inscribed with Persian verses in Nastaʿlīq script. It is assumed that the rug was a diplomatic gift from the Persian court of the time to the Ottoman Turks.

This Bokara rug, a modern consumer rug, is available for sale for over $144,000, down from a manufacturer suggested retail price of almost $300,000.
The rug uses “the finest of wool” and “authentic Persian designs” according to the manufacturer. This rug is hand-knotted in Iran so you can be sure of the quality.
One benefit of a modern rug over an actual antique rug is that it often comes with a warranty, as is the case with this rug. With the $144,000 price tag comes a 1-year warranty.

While some rugs do sell for tens of millions of dollars, other examples of high-end modern consumer rugs prove to be just as luxurious.
This Isfahan Antique Rug is made up of very high-density, hand-knotted wool with silk – about 1 million knots per square meter. Knot density is one of the key factors in valuing rugs based on quality.
The rug was handmade the city of Isfahan, named “most beautiful city in all Islamic states.” The rug is currently available for sale online for over $73,000.

Decaso, a decorative arts society, is offering this oversized wool rug for sale. The item is currently hosted in the Fred Moheban Gallery.
The Persian rug is quite large, measuring more than 11 feet by 17 feet. It is also an inch thick. The condition is described as excellent. These combined factors, coupled with the antique rug being Persian, contribute to a reasonable price tag, all things considered.