New Delhi, Oct 30 (IANSlife): An exceptionally rare Royal Mughal pashmina carpet, woven for the court of the Indian Emperor Shah Jahan, circa 1650, sold today at Christie's for £5,442,000, achieving over twice the low pre-sale estimate. Competitive telephone bidding in the room on the Mughal Carpet lasted for over 10 minutes.

The Mughal pashmina carpet is of 'Lattice and Flower' design, exemplary for its brilliant colour and pattern, woven with the most luxurious and costly materials with prized pashmina goat hair woven onto a fine silk foundation. It is one of only four 17th century pashmina carpets remaining in private hands.

Due to the fragility of the silk and the finely spun pashmina pile very few examples survive, making a carpet of this size and condition an extraordinarily rare survivor from the golden age of Imperial Mughal carpet production.

The carpet was a highlight in Art of the Islamic & Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets sale which totalled £15,989,352. The auction comprised 265 lots, including works of art, paintings, carpets and manuscripts from the 9th through to the 20th century, and from Spain in the east to India in the west.