Hookah Maker
1826
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
1826
paint
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Hookah Maker is a 1826 paint by Unknown, a Patna School of Painting work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
The painting shows a man sitting on the ground, making stems for smoking pipes from coconut shells. He's focused on his work, surrounded by his tools. The scene is simple, with the man being the main subject. This type of painting is called a 'Company painting', made by an Indian artist for the British in India. It's part of a set of 35 paintings depicting various trades and occupations. To learn more about how light and dark are used to create depth in this painting, look up the technique: chiaroscuro.
This work is one of 35 Company paintings produced in Patna in 1826, depicting local trades for British patrons in India. It shows a craftsman seated on the floor shaping stems for huqqas, or water-pipes, from coconut shells, while another man examines a finished pipe; examples hang on a rack and whole coconuts lie nearby. The scene records the process of making and finishing these smoking devices, which cool and filter smoke through water before it is inhaled.
Read the full account in the museum source.
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