water pipe stand; hookah

Hookah stand and tray. Hookah base on three feet in Bidri ware decorated with horizontal bands of scrolling poppy flowers with a border of stylised vegetal motifs, and a band of petals on the waist. Large round base a narrow waist and a rounded container above with central aperture. Side aperture for the pipe connected with a handle to the upper part. Tray missing.

The form of this hookah stand suggests a date post 1880s, it could be dated quite accurately by comparison to hookah stands in contemporary paintings. The bidri is generic and the object would have been made for local consumption, not for the tourist trade. It is comparable to V&A object 20942 (IS), Illustrated in plate 24 in Stronge, 1995.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
441
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 124 mm x 170 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
zinc; silver
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
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Collection Information

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