Description
HOOKAH" NARGHILE BASE bell-shaped, in zinc alloy inlaid with "bidri" silver, decorated on the body with a tapering composition of foliate stems encircled by friezes of foliate scrolls on the shoulder and base. India, Deccan, 19th century. A SILVER INLAID BIDRIWARE HUQQAH BASE, INDIA, DECCAN, 19TH CENTURY. HEIGHT. 16 CM (6 5/16 IN.) - DIAM. 15,3 CM (6 IN.) NOTE This type of water pipe (huqqa) was made in India in the first half of the 18th century and belongs to a class of metal ware known as "bidri". Bidri is a technique known only on the Indian subcontinent and takes its name from the town of Bidar, in the present-day state of Karnatika, where it is thought to have originated. Surviving pieces date from the late 16th or early 17th century and are still being made today. Bidri objects are cast from an alloy in which zinc predominates, although small quantities of lead, copper and tin can also be found. The decoration may be inlaid with silver, as shown here, or silver and brass, or covered with silver wire hammered onto a hatched surface. The final step in the process is to apply a salt mud paste over the entire surface, which transforms the dull gray of the alloy into a matte black without affecting the decoration.
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HOOKAH" NARGHILE BASE bell-shaped, in zinc alloy inlaid with "bidri" silver, decorated on the body with a tapering composition of foliate stems encircled by friezes of foliate scrolls on the shoulder and base. India, Deccan, 19th century. A SILVER INLAID BIDRIWARE HUQQAH BASE, INDIA, DECCAN, 19TH CENTURY. HEIGHT. 16 CM (6 5/16 IN.) - DIAM. 15,3 CM (6 IN.) NOTE This type of water pipe (huqqa) was made in India in the first half of the 18th century and belongs to a class of metal ware known as "bidri". Bidri is a technique known only on the Indian subcontinent and takes its name from the town of Bidar, in the present-day state of Karnatika, where it is thought to have originated. Surviving pieces date from the late 16th or early 17th century and are still being made today. Bidri objects are cast from an alloy in which zinc predominates, although small quantities of lead, copper and tin can also be found. The decoration may be inlaid with silver, as shown here, or silver and brass, or covered with silver wire hammered onto a hatched surface. The final step in the process is to apply a salt mud paste over the entire surface, which transforms the dull gray of the alloy into a matte black without affecting the decoration.
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