Context: Hunting Dogs and Fate

This object is a silver plaque that is pierced with holes, and that is embossed with a depiction of two hunting dogs flanking a male boar. The two hunting dogs have long noses, with a particular swirl pattern on their fur in order to distinguish themselves as canines. All three animals are in positions of active running; yet the hunting dogs are clearly attempting to encircle and capture, whereas the boar is expectedly attempting to make a break for freedom. The dog in front of the boar appears smaller and slimmer than the dog approaching from behind the boar. This is undeniably a hunting scene–much like the hunting scenes described in the ayniyyah. Hunting dogs are explicitly mentioned in the ayniyyah; this object introduces a degree of spatiality and sense of direction. While the poem does not specify the directions from which the animals are attacked, the object accentuates the possibility of being flanked from all directions, and thus rendered entirely ensnared. This is relatable to the theme of fate and death–both of which are inexorable.