Kalian
1650-1700 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This ceramic vessel is a ‘kalian’ or base for a water-pipe used in the newly introduced practice of smoking tobacco. It held the water through which the smoke was drawn in order to cool it using a long flexible tube connected to a container through two holes. They are also known as a hookah, huqqa, qalian, qalyan, qaliyan, narghile, shisha, and a hubble-bubble.
The decoration combines two types of ornament and aesthetics. The blue-and-white decoration was inspired by Chinese models, which had been popular in Iran since the 14th century. Production rose sharply in the 17th century, when Chinese wares were temporarily unavailable. The red- and green coloured slip represents an Islamic technique and design, completely non-Chinese in inspiration. The deer painted in red unites the two styles.
The decoration combines two types of ornament and aesthetics. The blue-and-white decoration was inspired by Chinese models, which had been popular in Iran since the 14th century. Production rose sharply in the 17th century, when Chinese wares were temporarily unavailable. The red- and green coloured slip represents an Islamic technique and design, completely non-Chinese in inspiration. The deer painted in red unites the two styles.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Fritware, painted in green and red slip and underglaze blue |
| Brief description | Kalian (water-pipe base), fritware, underglaze painted in cobalt blue with green and red slip, depicting deer in landscape; Iran, 1650-1700 |
| Physical description | Kalian, or hookah base, decorated around the body with blue landscapes and deer, contrasting with slip-painted half-palmette panels of green and red carnation sprays and red deer |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label |
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| Production | "Kirman Polychrome" |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This ceramic vessel is a ‘kalian’ or base for a water-pipe used in the newly introduced practice of smoking tobacco. It held the water through which the smoke was drawn in order to cool it using a long flexible tube connected to a container through two holes. They are also known as a hookah, huqqa, qalian, qalyan, qaliyan, narghile, shisha, and a hubble-bubble. The decoration combines two types of ornament and aesthetics. The blue-and-white decoration was inspired by Chinese models, which had been popular in Iran since the 14th century. Production rose sharply in the 17th century, when Chinese wares were temporarily unavailable. The red- and green coloured slip represents an Islamic technique and design, completely non-Chinese in inspiration. The deer painted in red unites the two styles. |
| Bibliographic reference | Lane, Arthur. Later Islamic Pottery. London: Faber and Faber, 1957. 133p., ill. Pages 82-4, colour plate D |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 420-1878 |
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| Record created | November 18, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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