Base for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral Medallions

Base for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral Medallions

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The shape and function indicates that this piece was made for export, probably to India. It remains unclear when the huqqa, used for cooling tobacco or some other substance with water prior to smoking, developed, though historical references indicate that it was used in both India and the Middle East by the sixteenth century.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Base for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral MedallionsBase for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral MedallionsBase for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral MedallionsBase for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral MedallionsBase for a Water Pipe (huqqa) with Floral Medallions

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.