Bidri Hookah Bowl with Roses
Unknown Artist
c. 1650s
Medium
Zinc alloy with silver and brass inlay
Dimensions
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Classification
Metalwork
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2020.207
About this artwork
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).