This huqqa base (for a water pipe) was made in the Mughal empire in the 18th century. Is globular body is made of metal, completely concealed by the overlay of pale greyish green nephrite inlaid with carnelian/chalcedony, lapis lazuli, ruby and other stones (often in coloured, reflective settings) in gold. Its short, ridged neck has a dark green nephrite mount and similar stones set in gold.
Tobacco smoking was introduced into the empire from the Deccan sultanates to the south in 1604. The emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) had sent an emissary, Asad Beg, to Bijapur who wrote an account of his visit in Persian. It has been translated into English: 'In Bijapur I found some tobacco. Never having seen the like in India, I brought some with me and prepared a handsome pipe of jewelled work' which he presented to Akbar. He reported that merchants began to sell tobacco, so the habit of smoking quickly spread. Akbar's son, Jahangir, banned smoking in his presence.
The huqqa base came from the collection of Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie who sold it with other objects from his collection to the Indian Museum in Leadenhall Street, London, in 1868. They were all transferred to the South Kensington Museum, later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum, in 1879.