Description:

A huqqah is a pipe used for smoking, with a water container (called a huqqah base) and a long flexible pipe. The Arabic inscription underneath this huqqah base reads ‘from (?) the death of the Prophet year 1172’ (wafaat rasuul dm 1172 sanah). This could mean the year 1758-9, 1804 or 1768-9 depending on how one interprets it. It may have been made for a Chinese Muslim, perhaps one of the Uyghur minority from Turkestan whom the Qianlong emperor integrated into the imperial hierarchy. Uyghur people use the Arabic alphabet to write their language. Qianlong had a Uyghur Muslim concubine, Rong Fei (or Xiang Fei) who lived in his palace from 1760-1788.

Glass
Height: 15.0 cm, diameter: 15.0 cm, neck diameter: 6.4 cm
Inscription in Arabic on base wafaat rasuul dm 1172 sanah (From (?) the death of the Prophet year 1172)

Creator: Unknown

Date: Qianlong reign period (1736-1795)

Copyright: Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives

Object ID:N4788