Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Kalian

1640-1680 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A kalian is a tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water. They are also known as a hookah, huqqa, qalian, qalyan, qaliyan, narghile, shisha, and a hubble-bubble.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Fritware, slip-painted, green glazed
Brief description
Kalian (water-pipe base), fritware, olive-green slip imitating Chinese celadon ware, painted in white slip, under a clear glaze; Iran, 1640-1680.
Physical description
Kalian or base for a waterpipe (hookah), fritware, of pear shape with elongated neck (broken and reduced in height), on the shoulders shallow mammiform spout, covered in a pale green or celadon wash and painted in white slip with flowers issuing from arabesque panels and insects in flight, under a clear glaze. The neck mounted with a chased brass collar.
Dimensions
  • Height: 24.1cm
  • Diameter: 20.3cm
Style
Subjects depicted
Summary
A kalian is a tobacco pipe with a long flexible tube connected to a container where the smoke is cooled by passing through water. They are also known as a hookah, huqqa, qalian, qalyan, qaliyan, narghile, shisha, and a hubble-bubble.
Collection
Accession number
1088-1883

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Record createdFebruary 18, 2009
Record URL
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