30th January 2011
No-one alive today would be able to tell you with any certainty exactly when the carpet was made. Even the best estimates from the finest experts in their field could only date it as “mid 17th century”. The problem was that at that time record keeping for this type of item was patchy at best, and in any case the style and design had been so influential that it remained in production for many years, and influenced many similar designs. So boiling it down to a likely period was probably as much as you could hope for.
What the experts would be able to agree was that the carpet was made in Kirwan, a city in area in what would now be central Iran. Kirwan weavers were considered amongst the very best in the entire world, and even back in the 17th century their products were highly regarded and eagerly bought by the very best members of society. Kirwan vase carpets, of which this was one, went on to influence the design of middle-eastern (and indeed Western) carpets well into the 19th century, with everyone wanting something which resembled these Iranian masterpieces.
But no copies or later interpretations could match the glorious quality of an original carpet. This particular one – which was actually manufactured in 1637 – was approximately seven and a half feet long, and five and a half feet wide. Its intricate weave was of a rich golden sand colour, with details picked out in darker shades, strong reds, and a rich black. When it was originally made, it was a special order for the governor of the province, and had adorned the bedroom in his magnificent home. Since then it had passed through several expensive hands and decorated many sumptuous rooms. It had seen the rise and fall of men, of families, of countries, and indeed of empires. It had been hidden during wars and disputes. But it had always bee treasured, always been prized, and most importantly it had survived.
Original Kirwan vase carpets of this kind were exceptionally rare. So rare in fact that London’s Victoria and Albert Museum could boast only a fragment of an original on display. So when this carpet came up for auction at Christies in London in April of 2010, the level of excitement among collectors and aficionados was extreme. The catalogue estimate for the carpet was £300,000, and while many expected the final figure would greatly exceed that, none were prepared for just quite by how much. When bidding ceased and the hammer finally fell, an anonymous telephone bidder had just paid £6.2m for it.
£6.2m in April 2010, but now less than a year later, as it sat on the floor of its new home, many thousands were being shed from that price by the second. With each drip this exquisite piece of irreplaceable art was being destroyed. And its owner wasn’t even noticing.
The carpet sat on the floor of a sprawling ranch house in Montana, in a study where it had sat since 3 days after that Christie’s auction. On it sat a leather wingback chair which faced a large television screen built into the wall.
On that television screen, a frozen image. The Forgotten Warrior revealed as Matthew Shand, blue eyes blazing with hatred, his words still hanging in the air
"Always remember....."
"blood is thicker than water........BROTHER"
And sitting in that chair, leaning forward now with his elbows resting on the arms, and his head hung low, is David Shand. His own eyes are not full of the fire and hatred of his brother, but instead are full of the anger that comes with sadness and remorse.
He’s staring down at the Kirwan carpet, but he’s not seeing the pattern. He’s not seeing anything; his mind is a million miles away. And that’s why he’s not noticing.
He’s not noticing the shards of glass that litter the carpet in front of him from the crystal whisky glass he’s just crushed in his hand.
And he’s not noticing the dark red blood that is slowly dripping from the cuts on his hand, and ruining his £6m carpet.
Subject: 30th January 2011 
Fri Feb 11, 2011 3:08 am
Just fooling, this is great.