Object ID
F2013.52
Object Name
Hookah
Material
Metal
Object Description
This hookah is composed of two parts. The small round opening at the top feeds into a long tube that extends all the way to a the open space at the bottom of the second piece. There is a spout that comes out about 2/3 of the way down on the top piece through which the smoke would have come. The lip just below the opening on the top is the widest part of the top piece. The rest of which is designed with varying circumferences to make it aesthetically pleasing without having to decorate the metal. The only decoration on the upper piece is a series of circles on the very bottom of the piece just before it touches the bottom part.

The bottom part is a bell shape with the handle pointing up and creating a open channel for the tube to fit through. It is mostly hollow and has a large space in the body of the bell shape where water would have gone. The top of the bell has a deep scalopped detail that parts the smooth handle from the decorated body. The top of the body has a repeated pattern of rounded shapes that taper off to points on the left and right sides so that the point of one figure is just touching the adjacent points on both sides. Inside the shape is a diamond with a circle at its very center. Between the outline of the shape and the diamond the top half is decorated with horizontal lines while the bottom half is decorated with circles. Underneath this band is a crest, outlined with circles and scratched on geometric shapes. In the middle of this the words "A. Akbalis Bursa" are repeated three times. The top and bottom figures have the words forming a circle while the center figure has the words written in larger letters and horizontally so they are easy to read.
Origin
A hookah is a water pipe that is used to vaporize tabacoo for smoking. In both Greece and Turkey it is refered to as nargile. Smoking hookah has been a part of Turkish culture since the 17th century but is currently banned in public places.

Bursa is a city in turkey where this hookah could have originated from. While A. Akbalis preseumably refers to a maker, distributor, or patron there is no infomation on this.
Rights and Reproduction
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Citation
Hookah, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/9833. Accessed 04/19/24.