Picture Details
Two men smoking opium
Partner:
British LibraryImage reference:
BL.Add.Or.1482Origin:
Punjab, IndiaArtist / Date:
Unknown, c.1860Description:
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Opium is a narcotic made from the juice of the opium poppy. In this Company drawing (a term which denotes paintings executed in a semi-European style by Indian artists for sale to European patrons in the 18th and 19th century) two opium addicts are shown smoking opium with simple hookahs. The hookah, a commonly used device, consisted of an elongated wooden pipe, made from bamboo or desert acacia, one end of which fitted into a small china or earthenware bowl containing water, the other end being the mouthpiece. Glowing charcoal was applied to opium pills (madak) placed in the device while simultaneous pulls were made through the mouthpiece, drawing the water-filtered smoke into the lungs. The preferred mode of taking the drug in India was by eating or drinking in a beverage. Opium was taken to maintain flagging strength, stave off hunger and deaden pain. The expansion of opium production under British rule carried implications for native consumption.
