The cloth embroidered with pearls, colored glass beads, and diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds set in silver and gold, backed.

Cartier, 2006: Certificate of Authenticity
SSEF, 2006, report no. 47780: Drop-shaped, cream color, natural pearl, saltwater
SSEF, 2006, report no. 47779: Two drop-shaped, brownish gray color, natural pearls, no indications of artificial color modification.

Exhibited: Commissioned by Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad of Baroda; thence by descent to Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda
Private Collection, 1985
Sotheby’s, New York, 24 March 2011, lot 105.

Literature: Birdwood 1878, p.110
Birdwood 1884, p.3770
Kunz and Stevenson 1908, pp.460-61
Weeden 1911, pp.311-12
Sergeant 1928, pp.91-0
Tottenham 1934, pp.154-55 
Welch 1985, pp.437-38
Prior and Adamson 2000, pp.101-02
Jaffer 2013, p.211, no.86.

Exhibited: Delhi Exhibition, Delhi 1903, pp.444-469
Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2009, pp.163-165, no.138
Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich 2010, pp.164-64, no.138
The Miho Museum, Koka 2016, pp.142-43, no.107
Grand Palais, Paris 2017, pp.276-77, no.207
The Doge’s Palace, Venice 2017, pp.288-89, no.200
The Palace Museum, Beijing 2018, pp.304-05, no. 204.

Composed of approximately 950,000 precious ‘Basra pearls’, emeralds, sapphires, rubies and colored glass beads in elaborate floral arabesques, this exquisite pearl canopy is a true testament to the sophistication and grandeur of the courts of the maharajas. It is one of only two surviving pieces of the renowned five-part suite of carpets commissioned by the maharaja of Baroda, Khande Rao Gaekwad (r. 1856-1870), reputedly intended to adorn the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad in Medina. The unparalleled craftsmanship of this canopy bears witness to the flourishing pearl-trade between the Arabian Gulf and India, which reached its golden age in the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, the highest quality pearls were sold in Basra to the Indian elite where they adorned lavish jewelers and textiles, used here in an astonishing quantity.