A bidriware huqqa base, Mughal or Deccan, 17th century

of globular form with a short cylindrical neck gently broadening at the mouth, the body inlaid with silver and incised with a frieze of eight monumental flowering plants, the shoulder decorated with major and minor bands of floral scrolls and palmettes, the neck with a further register of flowering plants

The frieze of flowering plants seen around the body of this huqqa is a decorative device associated with the period of Shah Jahan. These monumental flowering plants appeared in architecture, textiles and the borders of manuscripts. Two comparable huqqa bases are in the Victoria & Albert Museum (Stronge 1985, nos. 8 &11).