Huqqa Base (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
Known to the British as a “hubble-bubble,” a huqqa is a pipe in which scented, and often intoxicating, substances are smoked through cooling water. It consists of a water-filled base, a detachable bowl for the smoking materials, and a long tube through which the smoke is drawn. All three huqqa bases in this case are made from handblown glass and decorated with wheel-cut patterns. Earlier examples were spherical, resting on separate rings for stability. During the latter half of the 18th century, these two elements merged, and a flat-bottomed bell shape became the norm. This example, the latest of the three, features gilding over the wheel-cut decoration.
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