- Title
- Mouthpiece for a Hookah
- Date Made
- 19th century
- Medium
- Gilded silver
- Dimensions
- Length: 6 in. (15.24 cm); Diameter: 1 1/16 in. (2.7 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.83.26.1
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
This distinctive mouthpiece (mukhnal) for a hookah is made of gilded silver. The cylindrical fitting into which the hookah’s inhalation tube is inserted has a wide mouth with a plain stepped border at both ends. Around its waist is a scrolling flowering vine with flanking borders of stylized acanthus leaves. The plain neck is embellished in the center with a prominent ring molding adorned with floral motifs. The zoomorphic terminal is in the form of an elephant’s head with a slightly curvilinear trunk extended along the axis to create a tapered inhalation spout. The lively elephant sports bangles on his tusks and wears a forehead ornament. Links of two chains are attached to a ring at the fitting’s mouth, suggesting that the mouthpiece was originally connected to a particular hookah rather than portable. It was a common practice for nobles to carry their own mouthpieces rather than sharing them.
Hookah mouthpieces were made in a wide variety of materials. Besides precious and base metals, they were often fashioned from ivory, glass, jade, rock crystal and other hardstones. Most were plain or with modest geometric or floral decoration. Opulent mouthpieces were typically inlaid with gemstones set in gold. This demonstrative example epitomizes the South Asian artistic flair for adapting forms from the natural world to create masterpieces of decorative art.