Large vintage handmade metal w/leather India (?) HOOKAH water pipe +2 ft tall

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Large vintage handmade metal w/leather India (?) HOOKAH water pipe +2 ft tall:
$399.95

Hi and thank you for stopping by my listing. This sale is for an amazing, rare, vintage (antique?) Hookah, most likely made in India or Bangladesh. The piece is out of an old estate and frominformationprovided, the previous owners volunteered for the World Peace Organization in the 1960s, during which time they were stationed in Bangladesh and this piece was most likely acquired then.
I will do my best to describe the piece, but please look at all 12 photos to helpinterpretthe description. Please read the entire description.
This Hookah appears to be handmade.The Hookah dismantles into two pieces; I will call them the base and pipe assembly, for the purposes of this description. Starting at the bottom and working my way up:
The base looks to be leather which, in turn, is covered with 3 metal (which I believe to be brass) segments. (I do not know what the bowl is composed of; meaning, if the leather comprises the bowl or if the leather is covering a metal bowl). The bottom and top sections of exterior metal are held on with screws. The middle section is a ring that slides into place. The metal is stamped with a lovely, though irregular, pattern, and appears to be hand done.
The pipe assembly: There are two pipes that look to be bamboo which are covered inprimarilymetal and cloth. There is no flexible piping; the pipes are rigid. A section of bamboo (from the short pipe) extends down into the base, below the threads of the pipe assembly that attach it to the base. At the base of the two pipes are approximately 3 inch sections of, what appears to be hand formed, metal topped with a linkjoiningboth pipes. Above this, the pipes are covered with cloth with a fine braided wire coiled around it. About 3 inches above the bottom metal segment is a clamp that extends to both of the pipes. Just above the metal clamp, the pipes are wrapped in the copper colored braided wire and a gold-ish colored straight metal wire. (Please note: I do not know what these wires are composed of; I use copper and gold-colored as a description of the color, not the composition.)The copper-colored wire circles the pipe in a loop then runs to the next loop of metal, leaving a seam running along the interior side of the pipe. (please, please see photos on this).The remainder of the shorter pipe is then wrapped in string and ends with a visible section of bamboo. I believe at one time there would have been a bowl on top of this section, which is no longer there, and would therefore make the pipe inoperable, unless there was another bowl attached. I believe this piece was for decoration only. (I don\'t know that much about hookahs.) The longer pipe rises to about the same height as the short one, then shoots off at almost a 90 degree angle. The longer pipe continues to be covered in the copper and gold-ish colored wire, with the addition of 3 loops made of springs. The longer pipe then ends with a 1 1/4 inch section of bamboo.
There are some sections where there is red string visible on the pipes; this is at the points where the pipes flair. At these sections the string is worn and frayed. There is a metal rod that is used as a support beam, tied to the longer of the pipes. The metal rod flairs at the ends where it comes in contact with the pipe and is tied on with a black string that is wrapped around the pipe and the flaredend of the rod. The rod is thinned in the center and has stamping along this one segment.
The hookah is dinged and scratched in places. The red string is faded and slightly frayed. And, again, I believe there used to be a bowl on the top of the shorter of the two pipes, which is no longer there. There is tarnish along some of the metal on the base, in particular the top of the middle ring. Even with these signs of age, the piece is just lovely and thecraftsmanshipis obvious.
I know the description is a little confusing, myapologies, I could not think of a better way to describe it. I hope between the description and the photos, you will be able to see what a beautiful work of art this piece is.
This water pipe is big. It measures about 2 feet 4 inches tall x 2 foot 4 inches long x 6.5 inches wide. The base is 6.5 inches wide, has a circumference of over 8 inches, and is about 7 inches tall. The shorter of the two pipes measures just over a foot. The long pipe, from bottom to top (the whole length) is roughly 3 feet 2 inches. The hookah weighs 2 pounds 14 ounces.
Your new decorative piece will be shipped in the two separate pieces, so will need to be screwed together when you get it.
Your package will ship USPS priority mail. Your shipping fees include insurance for the item. I will combine shipping. If you have won multiple sales, please contact me before paying so that I may send an invoice with a modified shipping total.Hi international buyers, I am happy to ship to you. However, due to confusion on international shipping fees versus domestic, and first class versus priority mail options, all packages will now be shipped priority mail. Priority mail shipping costs start at $25.00 and reach over $60.00 US, depending on destination and weight of package. Before you offer please consider the cost of shipping. I will consider shipping first class for packages under $25.00 in value to Canada, Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand. As a side note, I have no control how long the package will be in your countries\' customs or what the customs fees will be. Customs forms will be filled out with the accurate purchase price of the item(s).
Please note international buyers: this package will be big and heavy. The shipping fees quoted are most certainly over what it will actually cost to ship to your particular location. If this is the case, I will refund you the overage of those fees through PayPal, once the actual fees are determined. You are welcome to message me to get a more accurate estimate of your actual shipping fees. The cost of insurance, which will be the actual cost to insure the piece, will be included in the shipping fees. I will only ship this piece to Germany, England, Canada, New Zeland and Australia, due to the difficulties with tracking and insurance going to other world wide locations.
Payment is due within 3 days of the sale\'s close. Invoices will be sent for items with non-payment within a week of the sales\' close, unless waiting for multiple sales to close and arrangements have been previously made. If an item is not paid for within 2 weeks, an unpaid item case will be opened. If something occurs to delay your payment, please contact me so payment arrangements can be made. I would like my buyers to have a great buying experience, just contact me with any questions.
If you have any questions or concerns, before or after you receive your item, please contact me.
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