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Source Description
Smoking tobacco was introduced to the Mughal court from Iran in the very early 1600s and soon became popular. This base formed part of a hookah, or water pipe, which consisted of a base that held water—sometimes perfumed with herbs or fresh fruit—a detachable bowl to hold tobacco, and a long tube. Early hookahs used existing vessels for bases, including coconut shells. By the late 1600s or early 1700s, richly decorated pieces like this were produced. The striking gold poppies on a cobalt blue background might indicate that opium was used in the hookah.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
136970
label
Hookah Base
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
136970
contentType
object
title
Hookah Base
description
Smoking tobacco was introduced to the Mughal court from Iran in the very early 1600s and soon became popular. This base formed part of a hookah, or water pipe, which consisted of a base that held water—sometimes perfumed with herbs or fresh fruit—a detachable bowl to hold tobacco, and a long tube. Early hookahs used existing vessels for bases, including coconut shells. By the late 1600s or early 1700s, richly decorated pieces like this were produced. The striking gold poppies on a cobalt blue background might indicate that opium was used in the hookah.
date
c. 1750
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80031329
genreSpecific
Glass
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 19.8 cm (7 13/16 in.)
cul
Mughal India, possibly Lucknow
accession
1961.44
Source extras
tec
gold on blue glass
tombstone
Hookah Base, c. 1750. Mughal India, possibly Lucknow. Gold on blue glass; overall: 19.8 cm (7 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund, 1961.44
collection
Indian Art
didYouKnow
The neckpiece was made separately and attached to the blown glass bowl.
citations
citation
Marcus, Margaret F. “A Gilded Blue Glass Vase: From Mughal India.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 49, no. 10 (December 1962): 243–247.<br>Published as: <em>Gilded Blue Glass Vase</em>
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 244-245, fig. 1
citation
Welch, Stuart Cary. <em>The Art of Mughal India: Painting & Precious Objects</em>. New York: Distributed by H.N. Abrams, 1963.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 174, no. 80
citation
Dikshit, Moreshwar Gangadhar. <em>History of Indian Glass</em>. [Bombay]: University of Bombay, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: pl. IIA
citation
Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook</em>. [Cleveland]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 312
citation
Carboni, Stefano, and David Whitehouse. <em>Glass of the Sultans</em>. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 138, pp. 284–285
citation
Du Pasquier, Jacqueline. <em>Histoire du verre: les chefs-d'oeuvre de l'Islam</em>. Paris: Massin, 2007.
page_number
p. 124
citation
Desjardins, Tara. <em>Mughal Glass: A History of Glassmaking in India.</em> New Delhi: Roli Books, 2024.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 121, no. 42
creditline
Cornelia Blakemore Warner Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:59:33.992000
sourceId
136970
dept
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
coll
Indian Art
med
gold on blue glass
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
94cfec46b9b0f800