oska Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 (edited) Hi, I just got my grandfather's hookah as a christmas gift. I was always fascinated by it as a child and he decided that instead of willing it to me, he'd just give it to me now. I really love this thing!!! I was wondering how I could date it? I know he got it between 1950-54. He was a foreman at GM and the workers had to go through him to get extra time for their vacations. The majority of immigrants working there were from Mexico and they'd always bring him back a bottle of tequila, but my grandfather doesn't remember the nationality of the guy who brought him back the hookah (middle eastern of some persuasion). It was already old when my grandpa got it (had a nice patina and was smoked out of already). It is completely made of brass, and none of it screws on, I don't think, just slides together. It has hand tooled, hammered soldiers and trees/ mountains around the base of it. The soldiers look like the ones you will find carved into the ruins of Persepolis in Iran, it seems pretty ornate to me, based on the few completely brass ones I've seen on ebay. It stands just over 2ft. tall. The inside middle section has wood on the inside of it. Sorry I don't know the names of the parts of a hookah, I've never actually smoked out of one before!! Perhaps I will now have to venture into a hookah lounge. I don't plan on selling it, but it would be nice to find out an approximate date, value, and country of origin for it. My boyfriend is Iranian and he has an old hookah in our apartment that has a glass base, but this one seems much older than it. He hasn't seen it yet but seems to think it is not persian for some reason. I'll post some pics later. Any help or suggestions are appreciated!!! Edited December 26, 2006 by oska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavo989 Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 First off, welcome to our little community!!The way you described the design and the soldiers (sound to me like Persian Immortals) it I'd say that's it's a safe bet to say it's a traditional Iranian hookah (or qalyan if you wanna get technical). I'd say it's also a safe bet to say it's an antique, I guess you could take it to like an auction house (although not to sell it) for an appraisal to find out the exact age. Have to wait for some pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaRose Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 A photo might help us on the forum here give you more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zerodynamic Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 ^^^^agreed... give us pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oska Posted December 26, 2006 Author Share Posted December 26, 2006 (edited) Ok, so here's a couple photos. The first one is a little blurry, sorry. Again, it is a little over 2 ft. tall, if that makes any difference in determining anything about it. It was hard to get the detail with the camera that I have. The whole thing is covered with geometric designs and flowers, and the bottom, as you can see, has the soldiers and flowers all the way around it. I tried to get a good detail. If you notice, the soldiers have wings. My grandma polished it up about 10 years ago, before she knew that you shouldn't clean antiques! Thanks again!! Edited December 26, 2006 by oska Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavo989 Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 Yup, I'd put my money on Iranian. I can't tell you the value of it, though. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzgig Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 I know nothing but oh, that is so cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleeding_Heart1 Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 QUOTE (oska @ Dec 26 2006, 09:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ok, so here's a couple photos. The first one is a little blurry, sorry. Again, it is a little over 2 ft. tall, if that makes any difference in determining anything about it. It was hard to get the detail with the camera that I have. The whole thing is covered with geometric designs and flowers, and the bottom, as you can see, has the soldiers and flowers all the way around it. I tried to get a good detail. If you notice, the soldiers have wings. My grandma polished it up about 10 years ago, before she knew that you shouldn't clean antiques! Thanks again!!i wouldnt say irianian, because most irianian hookahs have a picture of some old leader on the glass base as well as having wooden stems. IF i were making an educated guess i would say Indian, but im not an antique person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavo989 Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 That's true B_H. But I'm pretty sure that's Persian motif that it's decorated with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triggaman Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Are you going to be smoking out of this? Or just keeping it as an antique? I would reccomend not to smoke out of it due to the looks of it being brass/copper. Can be poisonous if smoked... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oska Posted December 27, 2006 Author Share Posted December 27, 2006 I'm keeping it strictly as an antique, but now that I've found myself here and have looked around, I'm going to have to try this out. I get obsessed about information, so in my obsession to find out anything about my new hookah, I feel like I've looked at a million websites and have already learned a lot!!! I think when I get back to LA I'll have to go to a hookah lounge. I just always associated the ones I've seen with obnoxious drunk kids (no offense, the ones near a certain university on a weekend are loud!) I know they aren't all that way, but I'll just have to find a nice place to try it out for the first time. I know they are out there. I'll have to post some more photos of my hookah tomorrow. I don't think I did it any justice. I am determined to figure out how old it is and where it came from! Thanks for all your help so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hookah_Bob3 Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 I recommend you look at some archaeology sites dealing with ancient mesopotamia. Very similar art styles, will possibly give you some information on the particular region it would be from. Iraq, Iran, etc..See which country tends to use that kind of art/figure drawing more often Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizzyGuy Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Word about trying out the hookah... I can't remember what kind of tobacco goes in that bowl, but it's not regular shisha... and the coal will go on top, this will be a different style than most people on this forum smoke from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hexagon Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 (edited) QUOTE (DizzyGuy @ Dec 27 2006, 05:51 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Word about trying out the hookah... I can't remember what kind of tobacco goes in that bowl, but it's not regular shisha... and the coal will go on top, this will be a different style than most people on this forum smoke from.I think you're talking about traditional tobacco like Tombeik, Zaghloul, etc.But why do you think it's not possible to smoke our regular maasel? :/ Edited December 27, 2006 by Hexagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostofdavid Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 I have seen a few hookahs in my day, and I would say that this is hands down the best hookah I have ever seen. I wouldn't smoke out of it, only because of how awesome it is. It appears to me that it has a Syrian/Babylonian/Persian motif to it. I cannot pinpoint which one in specific because I do not know ancient Near Eastern cultures as well as I should. Let us know if you find any more information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
web250 Posted December 27, 2006 Share Posted December 27, 2006 Very unique and antique looking hookah. Excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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