Cleveland Museum of Art

Bidri Hookah Bowl with Roses

Date

c. 1650s

Medium

Zinc alloy with silver and brass inlay

Culture

Southwestern India, Deccan, Karnataka, Bidar​

Department

Indian and Southeast Asian Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Hookah bowls were used for the enjoyment of tobacco or any other smoked substance during moments of relaxation. They were also aesthetic objects to be admired in elite gatherings of connoisseurs. The flowering rose bushes on this fine early example, made shortly after the introduction of tobacco-smoking in India, would have called to mind celebrated poetical works, such as the Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (Persian, 1210–1291 or 1292). Bidri ware is cast from condensed vapors of zinc mined from Sawar in Rajasthan.

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