A Totnes carpet dealer once identified a fragment of one of the world’s most famous carpets while browsing an auction house in Cornwall.

Dominic Orr first came across the small piece, measuring just 35cm by 99cm, on August 13, 2021.

It had been catalogued as a 19th-century carpet fragment featuring scrolls and large palmettes.

However, Mr Orr recognised something much more significant.

The dealer had seen photographs of the carpet from a Christie’s auction the previous year and knew that fragments of the rare imperial Chinese weaving occasionally appeared on the market.

The fragment, which had been assembled from several smaller pieces, was subsequently sold for £1,000.

Its significance lay in its connection to an extraordinary piece of textile history.

Known as the ‘One Foot Lotus’ carpet, the original weaving was laid in the chapel of Empress Dowager Cixi in Beijing’s Forbidden City.

Its name reflects a Buddhist legend in which lotus flowers bloomed beneath the feet of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, as he took his first seven steps.

The carpet was originally a deep red and is believed to date from the first half of the 17th century, during the late Ming dynasty.

Another remarkable example of the period’s craftsmanship is the Tiffany Palace Carpet, which sold at Christie’s in New York in October 2020 for $1.71 million — $500,000 above its top estimate.

Measuring approximately seven metres by 9.8 metres, it remains the largest-known Ming carpet outside China.

It was acquired by American artist and designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, who had it resized to fit the gallery of his Long Island home, Laurelton Hall., whilst the removed sections were repurposed as hallway runners.

The fragment subsequently changed hands several times among dealers across the UK, with each able to claim they had owned a piece of the celebrated weaving.

Mr Orr, meanwhile, describes his connection more modestly: he has touched a fragment of the historic carpet.

The discovery forms part of the stories he explores in his forthcoming book, *Warps Wefts Whispers – Meetings with Remarkable Weavings*.

He will present chapters from the book during an exhibition of rugs, carpets, ethnic textiles and clothing at Birdwood House Gallery in Totnes from October 26 to 31.

One chapter recounts how he acquired a rare Tibetan monastery carpet depicting lotus flowers while visiting Lhasa.

Other passages describe Mr Orr’s visit to Beijing’s Forbidden City in 2003. He has also spent time observing worshippers at Buddhist temples across China, experiences that have informed his interest in the cultural and spiritual significance of traditional textiles.

According to organisers, the exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to explore the craftsmanship and stories behind these objects, as well as the experiences of a dealer whose work has taken him across the world.

The fragment found in Cornwall may have been small, but its connection to a celebrated piece of imperial history demonstrates how remarkable objects can surface in unexpected places.