The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of August 13, 2022

Bidri Hookah Bowl with Roses

c. 1650s

Southwestern India, Deccan, Karnataka, Bidar​

Zinc alloy with silver and brass inlay

Diameter: 16.5 cm (6 1/2 in.); height: 18.5 cm (7 5/16 in.)

Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2020.207

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Bidri ware is cast from condensed vapors of zinc mined from Sawar in Rajasthan.

Description

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).

Provenance
1968-1999
Dr. Mark Zebrowski [1945-1999], London, UK, by descent to his partner John Robert Alderman
1999-2020
(John Robert Alderman, London, UK, consigned to Francesca Galloway, Ltd. for sale)
2020
(Francesca Galloway, Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
2020-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Festival of India in the United States, 1985-1986. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1985. p. 77
Desai, Vishakha N., B. N. Goswamy, and Ainslie Thomas Embree. Life at Court: Art for India's Rulers, 16th-19th Centuries. Boston, Mass: Museum of Fine Arts, 1985. pp. 144-145
Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India. London: Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, 1997. Reproduced: pp. 233, 235, and color plate 502
Exhibition history

Life at court: art for India's rulers, 16th-19th centuries. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA (November 20, 1985-February 9, 1986).

Life and Exploits of Krishna in Indian Paintings (Indian art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 1, 2021-February 6, 2022).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.207