A Carpet Used in Coronations and a Mamluk Enamelled Glass bowl...and More Highlights

Why It Matters

These artifacts illustrate the deep cross‑cultural ties and technical innovations that shape high‑value art markets, informing collectors, museums, and investors about the enduring prestige and monetary potential of rare Islamic and Indian masterpieces.

Key Takeaways

• Rare 1650 Mughal carpet showcases Shah Jahan’s naturalistic floral motifs
• Mamluk Syrian enamelled glass bowl exemplifies 14th‑century technical mastery
• Carpet served three British coronations, evidencing cross‑cultural provenance
• Only four known enamelled bowls survive, highlighting extreme rarity
• Hyderabad‑made 19th‑century jambiya dazzles with gold, rubies, diamonds

Summary

Christie’s recent exhibition of Islamic and Indian art spans 1,500 years, featuring a handful of extraordinary objects that illustrate the region’s artistic breadth. The centerpiece is a circa‑1650 Mughal carpet woven under Shah Jahan, notable for its vivid red field, ivory accents, and unprecedented naturalistic depictions of carnations, poppies, roses, and narcissi—elements studied by the emperor’s favorite painter, Mansour. Its long format would have adorned a northern Indian palace, and its later truncation allowed it to serve as a ceremonial dais covering for the coronations of Edward VII, George V, and the 1922 wedding of Princess Mary, with each event documented by stitched labels on the reverse.

Equally striking is a 14th‑century Mamluk Syrian enamelled glass footed bowl, one of only four extant examples worldwide. The piece demonstrates a delicate balance of heat to vitrify enamel without melting the glass, and its upper band features three gilded lion‑antelope combat scenes interspersed with blue arabesque roundels whose terminals reveal grotesque heads. Such technical virtuosity and rarity make it a benchmark of medieval Islamic glassmaking.

The exhibition also includes a 19th‑century Hyderabad jambiya, a sidearm whose hilt and sheath are sheathed in sheet gold studded with rubies, diamonds, and emeralds. Its lavish decoration, combining geometric, floral, and avian motifs, epitomizes the artistic exchange between the Arabian Peninsula and India during the colonial era, marking it as perhaps the most opulently adorned example of its type.

Collectively, these objects underscore the fluidity of artistic influence across Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and the broader Islamic world, while also highlighting how such pieces have traversed continents to become integral to Western ceremonial heritage. Their rarity and provenance enhance their market appeal, positioning them as marquee items for collectors and institutions alike.

Original Description

Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Rugs and Carpets: Hear from our specialists Louise Broadhurst and Sarah Plumbly

From the richly woven Toledo Mughal ‘Flower and Lattice’ carpet to a finely enamelled Mamluk glass footed bowl, discover the stories behind the highlights of Art of the Islamic and Indian Art Including Rugs and Carpets. Auction: London, 30 April 10:30am BST. Exhibition: 24 April ~ 9 April, Free entry, open to all.