Sotheby’s will auction the Yerkes‑Remarque hunting carpet on Oct. 21, 2026 in Manhattan’s Bryant Park. The 473 cm by 200 cm, 15‑foot‑6‑inch textile, woven on a cotton base with wool pile, carries a wine‑red background that frames hunting scenes of tigers, leopards, and lions. Its estimate—$250,000 to $350,000—reflects its age and the high caliber of its previous owners.
The carpet dates to the first half of the 17th century, a period of Mughal courtly artistry. It first surfaced in the collection of Charles T. Yerkes, the controversial New‑York financier who prized Oriental rugs. After Yerkes’s death, it passed to German novelist Erich Maria Remarque, who kept it in Ascona for decades, before moving through a Swiss private collection, London’s Textile Gallery, and finally the Thyssen‑Bornemisza family in 1986.
Sotheby’s 2013 London sale fetched £314,500—more than double the £100,000–£150,000 estimate—after a restoration that preserved the original pile but required repairs to worn corners. The carpet’s condition, described by art historian Friedrich Spuhler as a “court‑design workshop” piece, confirmed its provenance and craftsmanship. The new auction will test whether the market still values such historic textiles at premium prices.
If the auction achieves the upper end of its estimate, the carpet could set a new benchmark for Mughal‑era rugs and attract collectors from across the globe. The sale also follows a series of high‑profile Oriental carpet auctions that have reshaped the market in recent years, and it may prompt a reevaluation of how such artifacts are valued in contemporary art trading. The bidding will open at 10 a.m. on the day of the sale, with a final hammer close at 5 p.m.