Fine Antique Indian Amritsar Tan Background Rug BB8578 12'1" × 17'8" $60,000

An early 20th century Indian Amritsar antique rug, the tan field with an unusual symmetrical design of strap work and vinery-filled cream cartouches arranged along the interior edges and forming a large central diamond within a similar cartouche border.

The city of Amritsar, situated in Northwestern India, became a center of Indian rug and carpet weaving in the nineteenth century when the Maharaja Ranjit Singh annexed Kashmir, the flourishing shawl-weaving center. The rise of the British supremacy in the 1850s, along with the Crystal Palace Exhibit in London, captured the attention of the public and sparked the dramatic development of indian amritsar rug production in Amritsar. Under the influence of European rug importers, the establishment of looms and the availability of fine quality wool from sheep raised in nearby mountains and valleys, the area rug weavers of Amritsar adapted their traditional carpet designs to correspond with western tastes and European demand.