AN INDIAN MINIATURE PAINTING OF A MUGHAL PRINCE SMOKING A HUQQA India, Rajasthan, early 19^th century. Watercolors and gold on paper. The prince seated on a large cushion in a palace terrace, wearing white robes, a yellow sash, and a fine headdress, smoking a waterpipe, his attendant behind him holding a flywhisk.

Provenance: From an old English private collection. The reverse of the mounting with a monogram ‘FPA 98’.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, soiling, staining, and creasing, few minuscule losses, possibly microscopic touchups.

Dimensions: Image size 32.5 x 23 cm. Total size 49 x 39 cm (including frame). Mounted and framed behind glass.

The hookah was invented by Abul-Fath Gilani, a Persian physician of Akbar, during Mughal India. It spread from the Indian subcontinent to Persia, where the mechanism was modified to its current shape. Despite tobacco and drug use being considered a taboo when the hookah was first conceived, its use became increasingly popular among nobility.

Auction result comparison: Compare a related Indian miniature painting of Nawab Darab Khan smoking a huqqa, dated circa 1700, at Bonhams New York in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art on 17 March 2014, lot 105, sold for USD 17,500.