Pipe Smoking in Ottoman Egypt

by Marcus Milwright | Talking about art

Why is it important that a shadow puppet shows a figure smoking a pipe? This talk examines the story about a puppet found in a town in northern Egypt, and questions what substances were smoked during the Ottoman period.

Leather and textile puppet discovered in Manzala, Egypt. Reproduced in Paul Kahle, “Das islamische Schattentheater” Orientalisches Archiv 3.3 (1912)