Silver-Inlaid Bell-Shaped Hookah Base
A silver-inlaid bell-shaped (gahuwa) body Bidri Ware Hookah base, India, Deccan or North India (Lucknow), 19th century. A dense network of scrolling foliate creepers populated by multi-petaled poppy flowers and rosettes. The execution uses precise tehnishan to trace the stems and a form of sheet overlay to flesh out the blossoms, creating a luminous contrast against the blackened metal backdrop, approx. 19 cms h.
Essay:
In his seminal work Bidri Ware and Damascene Work, scholar and collector Jagdish Mittal provides an exhaustive chronological breakdown of the evolution of huqqa bases. He notes that as the craft migrated to Northern workshops like Lucknow, or adapted later in Hyderabad and Bidar, decorative schemes favoured more packed surfaces over open spaces. This piece demonstrates that shift, balancing traditional Deccani technical skill with the complex visual styles characteristic of later royal collections.
Provenance: Private Collection London.
A silver-inlaid bell-shaped (gahuwa) body Bidri Ware Hookah base, India, Deccan or North India (Lucknow), 19th century. A dense network of scrolling foliate creepers populated by multi-petaled poppy flowers and rosettes. The execution uses precise tehnishan to trace the stems and a form of sheet overlay to flesh out the blossoms, creating a luminous contrast against the blackened metal backdrop, approx. 19 cms h.
Essay:
In his seminal work Bidri Ware and Damascene Work, scholar and collector Jagdish Mittal provides an exhaustive chronological breakdown of the evolution of huqqa bases. He notes that as the craft migrated to Northern workshops like Lucknow, or adapted later in Hyderabad and Bidar, decorative schemes favoured more packed surfaces over open spaces. This piece demonstrates that shift, balancing traditional Deccani technical skill with the complex visual styles characteristic of later royal collections.
Provenance: Private Collection London.
