Lot 1. Blue-and-White Hookah Base, Scholars in a Garden, China, 18th century. Estimate 1 800 € - 2 340 €. Unsold. Photo Auctionata AG

Porcelain with underglaze blue painting. Of rounded form, with waisted neck and flaring mouth, on the exterior a blue-and white garden scenery and stylized floral decoration. White glazed base with artemisia leaf mark in underglaze blue. Height: 18 cm. Good condition

The characteristic form of Huqqa (engl. Waterpipe, also spelled hookah) bases had only appeared in India in the 17th century. There are similar shaped examples in glass, often with gilt décor but more commonly are those made in bidriware, with a corpus of zinc alloy usually inlaid with silver. The Chinese were eager to adopt this form in their porcelain production once the demand for pieces like this was rapidly growing. The Chinese blue-and-white models then also had a particular influence on the decoration of the Indian bidriware production when these models became fashionable export luxury items on the Indian market.

Art d'Asie - Partie I, le 20 Juin 2016 à 14h - AUCTIONATA AG, 14055 BERLIN