TL;DR Breakdown
- The Pontifex carpet NFT was sold for over $82K.
- It was a gift to Pope Francis from the crown prince of the UAE.
- 80% of the revenue will go towards helping vulnerable families in Afghanistan.
In 2016, the Pontifex carpet was gifted to Pope Francis by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi during his visit to the Vatican City. Yesterday, the NFT version of that gift was sold for 25 ETH, in an initiative to raise funds for vulnerable families in Afghanistan. Based on today rate, the sale accumulates for over $82,000.
The Pontifex carpet is historic for so many reasons. Not only it’s a gift for the head of the Catholic Church, but also a symbol of a diplomatic relationship between the Vatican City and the UAE. It’s also regarded as a symbol of a piece and inter-religious harmony. The carpet itself also traces its root back to Afghanistan, as it was knitted by Afghan women.
Who launched this NFT initiative?
The initiative was taken by the retail sector of FBMI, a social enterprise that retails traditional hand-knotted products from Afghanistan. The organization created a replica of the original Pontifex carpet and minted it as an NFT to transfer its legacy to the digital space. The NFT was announced in November last year, and it was sold on Friday almost 2 months later.
While the original version of the carpet remains in the possession of Pope Francis, the NFT buyer will receive a replica of the original from FBMI. The chief executive of the organization, Maywand Jabarkhyl said that this sale is a massive step forward in using non-fungible tokens as a solution to promote creative works, as well as to help vulnerable communities.
FBMI has been working since 2010 to help the Afghan community in promoting their skills to receive better employment opportunities, financial and economic benefits. Since last year, NFT has emerged as a great solution for raising funds and helping underprivileged communities, while also promoting creative skills.
