Chinese Huqqa Base Made for the Indian Market 清外销瓷青花搪瓷水烟壶

China,17th / 18th century Kangxi Period (1662-1722)
20cm high
外销印度市场
中国，康熙时期（1662年——1722年）
高20厘米
Stock no.: A3518

+44 (0)20 4572 6886

This Kangxi period (1662–1722) huqqa base was made in China for the Indian market. Its form derives from 17th-century metal huqqa bases made in Deccan, India. This form, in turn, derives from the lota, an ancient Indian water vessel.

The body is decorated with blossoming prunus trees and peonies, motifs typical of Chinese porcelain. However, the layout within six mihrab-like cartouches is derived from Indian prototypes. An example of a Bidri (zinc inlaid with silver and brass) huqqa base made in Deccan in the 17th century is pictured in Mark Zebrowski's Gold, Silver and Bronze in Mughal India.[1] The same huqqa base was exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2015 and can be viewed online here.

The similarity of both form and decoration between this Chinese porcelain huqqa base and the Indian metal model indicates that the potters must have had access to examples of Indian metalwork.

[1] Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India. Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, 1997, pl. 360, p. 224.

instagram

@AMIRMOHTASHEMI