This Kangxi period (1662–1722) porcelain huqqa base was made in China for the Indian market. Its globular form wtih narrow truncated neck is taken from metal huqqa bases made in India. A 17th-century protoype made in Bidar and decorated with the bidri inlay technique is pictured in Zebrowski, pl. 360, p. 224 (18.5 cm high).[1] This example was also exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, "Sultans of Deccan India, 1500–1700: Opulence and Fantasy," April 20–July 26, 2015. Not only is the form of this Indian huqqa base identical to that of our Chinese example, but there is such similarity between the decoration of flowers growing within arched cartouches that the Chinese potter must have had access to Indian examples.

The neck of this huqqa base has been ground down and replaced with an Indian metal rim, indicating that it did make it to its intended destination. Chinese pottery was a luxury item, and one which would have been restricted to the nobility and ruling classes.[2]

[1] Zebrowski, Mark. Gold, Silver & Bronze from Mughal India. Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India. Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, 1997, pl. 360, p. 224.
[2] Ahmad, Saleem. 'Porcelain in Medieval India: Finds from some Important Excavations', Proceedings of the Indian History of Congress 66 (2005–2006), pp. 1445–1449: p. 1448.