This duck-shaped vessel seems to have been designed as a hookah base. The hookah was a water pipe used for the consumption of tobacco. The smoke from the burning herb was drawn down a pipe and through water to cool it and filter it. It was then drawn up another pipe to the mouthpiece. The ‘duck’ held the water, and the holes in its back and neck accommodated the two pipes. The whole vessel is only 11.7 centimetres high and therefore rather smaller than most examples. This may indicate that it was intended for private use, perhaps by a woman. If so, the high quality of the vessel shows that the intended market for such hookah bases was women of some social standing. It has been suggested that Chinese porcelain incense burners in the shape of a goose inspired the form of this vessel, and the blue-and-white decoration is certainly an imitation of Chinese wares.