- Title
- Mouthpiece (mukhnal) for a Hookah
- Date Made
- late 17th-18th century
- Medium
- Copper, nickel, and zinc alloy
- Dimensions
- 3 3/16 x 3/4 in. (8.1 x 1.91 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.86.340
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Known as a mukhnal, this hookah mouthpiece is made from an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc, similar in metallurgical composition to the base metal varieties used in bidri-ware. The cylindrical fitting into which the hookah’s inhalation tube is inserted has a wide mouth with a flared lip. Around its waist are two matching borders of stylized acanthus leaves above and below a series of vertical cartouches formed by connecting dividers. The cartouches alternate a blossom and foliage bouquet with blank panels. A ring molding transitions to a zoomorphic terminal in the form of an elephant’s head whose curvilinear trunk serves as an inhalation spout.
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. Elephant-head hookah mouthpieces epitomize the South Asian artistic flair for adapting forms from the natural world to create masterpieces of decorative art. See also M.83.26.1
The practice of smoking tobacco was introduced into India in the late 16th century by Portuguese traders. It reached the Mughal court in 1604 through its well-known importation by Asad Beg, a noble in service of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). It was a common practice for nobles to carry their own mouthpieces rather than sharing them.