Carpet Diem: Tales from the World of Oriental Rugs

A colorful tour through the enthralling world of oriental carpets and its unusual characters that is also an honest and often humorous meditation about beautiful objects and our impulse to collect them.

One day, the prizewinning poet George Bradley happened to take note of a carpet that had lain beneath his feet for decades. Carefully studying its weave and pattern, he was astonished by its complexity and allure. He became suddenly fascinated, and his newfound curiosity about oriental rugs sent him on a thrilling adventure, introducing him to a little-known realm in which beauty, artistry, business, and history collide.

Carpet Diem chronicles Bradley’s exploration of the world of oriental carpets, one in which he falls in love with a variety of captivating rugs and learns about the cultural background of the people who made them. A journey from innocence to experience, this entertaining account includes his encounters with the dealers, collectors, scroungers, restorers, and connoisseurs who inhabit an exotic and sometimes shady milieu. As he brings together his own story with those of these characters, he also tells some of the history of what is one of the world’s great art forms. Like Scheherazade, Bradley spins tale after tale about the sorts of gorgeous textiles found on the floors of mansions across Europe and America, in the portraits of Titian and Vermeer, in the faraway caves of Central Asia, and in bespoke shops of Manhattan, the Hamptons, and Westport, Connecticut.

A narrative that combines the mesmerizing storytelling found in The Arabian Nights with the pilgrimage into history that unfolds in The Silk Road and the dramatic compulsion to possess rare elegance that propels The Orchid Thief, Carpet Diem is an unusual and charming memoir that testifies to the intricate beauty woven into our world.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

© 2025 HarperAudio (Audiobook): 9780063394971

Release date

Audiobook: 27 May 2025