Rare Persian carpet breaks world record after being sold for $30 mln

A Persian carpet decorated with swirling vines and vibrant flowers that was stored for decades by the Corcoran Gallery of Art has been sold for more than 30 million dollars in the U.S..

The amount has broken the previous record for rugs sold at auction.

According to the Washington Post, the amount for which the Clark Sickle-Leaf Carpet was sold stunned viewers and participants at the sale, in which 25 rugs and carpets were auctioned off to raise money for new acquisitions of American and contemporary art at the Corcoran Gallery.

The anonymous bidder, who participated by phone, paid 33,765,000 dollars for the 17th-century Persian piece, which came from the bequest of William Clark, the industrialist and U.S. senator who donated more than 200 works of fine art and rugs to the Corcoran upon his death in 1925.

Before Wednesday's sale, a blue leaf-patterned 17th-century rug from southeast Iran held the global record, selling for 9.6 million dollars at Christie's in London in 2010, the report added.