NORTH OR CENTRAL INDIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Huqqa, the concept of smoking flavoured tobacco is likely to originate from India, during the Mughal rule. The waterpipe, used to smoke the substances, of which one of these fish bases acted as a decorative mouthpiece, was invented by Abu’l-Fath Gilani, the physician to Akbar I, the third Mughal Emperor. A similar base, in the form of a dolphin, is illustrated in J. M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam: Treasures from the Nasser D. Khalili Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2007, p. 238.