Antique Indian Amritsar Botanic Handmade Wool Carpet (Size Adjusted) BB7279 9'7" × 11'1" $42,000

An early 20th century Indian Amritsar antique rug, the cream field with an overall leafy branch and stylized flowerhead overall design in a subdued palette within a leaf and scrolling vine border.

The city of Amritsar, situated in Northwestern India, became a center of Indian rug and amritsar 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 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 rug weavers of Amritsar adapted their traditional carpet designs to correspond with western tastes and European demand.