A Safavid "vase" technique carpet fragment originating from 17th century southern Persia was the headline lot at Sotheby's New York on January 31.
It realised $365,000 at the Carpets from Distinguished Collections auction, an increase of 204.1% on a $120,000 estimate.
 The carpet fragment was probably produced in the Persian city of Kerman |
The piece is likely to have been created in the city of Kerman, a centre for rug production throughout Persian history, and features a design of boldly coloured vines and arabesques on a rich blue background.
In 2010, a complete vase rug from Kerman realised £6.2m ($9.5m) at Christie's London.
A Safavid prayer rug dating to circa 1600 hammered for an identical figure of $365,000.
Thought to originate from the cities of Kashan or Isfahan, the piece is resplendent with a pattern of spiralling tendrils, with quotes from the Qur'an along the borders.
It is among the "Salting" subset of prayer rugs, which are named for George Salting who left his collection to London's Victoria & Albert Museum in the 1800s.
They are characterised by a Persian design inlaid with scriptures, with around half the known examples featuring metal brocading.
An Eagle Kazak rug was another high performing lot, achieving $233,000.
It was produced in the Caucus Mountains in around 1800, and is in superb condition in spite of its age.
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