Sotheby’s March 18th sale in Doha gets a little press in London. As the global auction circuit continues through the Spring, there will be more opportunities like this to gauge the “emerging markets.” Oil prices have recovered slightly and hover near the $50 point which has been touted as the new break-even price for OPEC production.

The Telegraph adds some detail to the trophies on offer in Doha:

The famed Pearl Carpet of Baroda has a starting price of $5m and will become a record breaker if it sells, beating the $4.45 million paid for a silk Persian rug in New York, at Christies, in 2008. [ . . . ] Commissioned by the Maharaja of Baroda in India in the 18th century, the Pearl Carpet was created using an estimated two million natural seed pearls farmed from the Arabian Gulf.

Embossed with gold set diamonds, rubies and emeralds in their hundreds, the centre piece of the exquisite rug are three large round rosettes put together using table cut diamonds set in silvered gold. Originally intended to be gifted to the tomb of the prophet Mohammed in Medina, the Baroda rug never made it to its intended destination as “Gaekwar” Kande Rao, the Maharaja of Baroda, died before the rug could be delivered.

World’s most expensive rug expected to sell for £14.5 million (Telegraph)