Bidri Hookah Bowl with Roses

Hookah bowls were used for the enjoyment of tobacco or any other smoked substance during moments of relaxation. They were also aesthetic objects to be admired in elite gatherings of connoisseurs. The flowering rose bushes on this fine early example, made shortly after the introduction of tobacco-smoking in India, would have called to mind celebrated poetical works, such as the Gulistan (Rose Garden) of Sa'di (Persian, 1210–1291 or 1292).