Luba. <em>Water Pipe</em>, 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)

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)

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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.

Water Pipe

Arts of Africa

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.

CULTURE Luba

MEDIUM Wood, leather, clay

Possible Place Made: Luvua River region (?), Tanganyika Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo

DATES 19th century

DIMENSIONS 23 x 3 3/4 x 9 in. (58.4 x 9.5 x 22.9 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Arts of Africa

ACCESSION NUMBER 22.1108a-b

CREDIT LINE Brooklyn Museum Collection

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carved wooden water pipe and bowl straddled by a beautifully carved female figure with elongated torso. Body symbolically cicatrized in traditional style. Modelled arms with hands below small breasts; columnar neck surmounted by carefully carved head; coiffure bound up in cross-shaped framework. Wood worn and patinated; clay bowl has been repaired.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

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)

IMAGE overall, 22.1108a-b_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT 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.

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Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

What did they smoke with these?