Hookah Maker

This is an example of a ‘Company painting’ – a picture made by an Indian artist for the British in India, particularly employees of the East India Company, the trading firm that by the 18th century had acquired a territorial empire in India. The painting comes from a set of 35 made in Patna in northern India, depicting various trades and occupations. It shows a man seated on the ground making ‘snakes’ or stems for huqqas (hubble-bubbles or smoking pipes) made from coconut shells. Another man sits on the right holding a huqqa in his hands, while examples of the finished product are hanging on a rack behind and coconuts are lying on the ground in front.