Water Pipe
1 of 8
Object Label
This large, extraordinarily beautiful example of a rare Luba water pipe undoubtedly belonged to a person of high status. The female figure holding her breasts is the most common motif in Luba art. The gesture symbolizes respect, nurturing, and the role of women as mothers. The representation of a woman is also significant because the Luba trace descent from the female line. The figure’s elaborate scarification and hairstyle indicate she is a woman of wealth and high social rank.
Caption
Luba. Water Pipe, 19th century. Wood, leather, clay, 23 x 3 3/4 x 9 in. (58.4 x 9.5 x 22.9 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Museum Collection, 22.1108a-b. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 22.1108a-b_PS2.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Water Pipe
Date
19th century
Geography
Possible place made: Luvua River region (?), Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Medium
Wood, leather, clay
Classification
Dimensions
23 x 3 3/4 x 9 in. (58.4 x 9.5 x 22.9 cm)
Credit Line
Brooklyn Museum Collection
Accession Number
22.1108a-b
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
What did they smoke with these?
This Luba "Water Pipe" would have been used for smoking tobacco or hemp. Locally grown tobacco in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is extremely rough. When used, water pipes like these would cool and cut the harshness of the smoke.
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