Gallery

Here is a bonous artificat not included formally for word count reasons...

This is a white Jug produced in 15th century Iran painted with a blue dragon based on a Chinese Yuan prototype. From the British Museum description, this style of pottery is based on the infamous blue and white porcelain of China, in which the Islamic world (Timurid empire) was captivated. Craftsmen from the region tried to replicate this coveted blue-and-white porcelain by painting in cobalt blue on a white clay called fritware or stonepaste. They also adapted Chinese motifs, such as the twisting dragon, whose flames could perhaps be mistaken for clouds, as noted by the British Museum's description of the Jug. Through this blue and white replica, we gain insight into Chinese influences on the dragon in Iran, which is echoed in the art in the Folio’s above, which have a striking resemblance to their Chinese counterparts, especially the depictions that come in later years. 

It is here that we gain insight as to why dragons in this society are not purely evil and also bear a striking resemblance to Chinese dragons. Dragons are very prominent on Chinese white porcelain, and in China in general, and so it is likely that through the exchange of these goods conceptions of dragons in form and function were transferred as well.

Another fascinating artifact which simply gets an honourable mention (it just reinforces what I was already pointing out) is a pearl white ceramic bowl with golden or reddish dragons on the inside of the bowl coiling around, snakelike in appearance. The bowl is likely from Iran and is dated around A.D. 1210. Inside the bowl, a shaded orb-like object can be seen in between two dragons which span the inside of the bowl, coiling around each other at specific junctions. The orb-like object likely represents the sun, as indicated by the Catalog Entry from the Met for this object and their source Of serpents and dragons in Islamic art : an iconographical study by Daneshvari, Abbasm, it seems that a likely interpretation of this object is that of the sun, symbolic of rulership. As noted by the MET, dragons were able to cause and reverse eclipses by swallowing the moon and sun, and were seen as terrifying, beneficial, and protective. There is text on the bowl which includes phrases such as “May your good fortune surpass all limits” as well.

This bowl associates dragons and rulership together, and dragons with positivity and also terrifying power. This might mean that dragons in this culture are meant to be symbols and creatures of significant power and status, which makes it ever more heroic to slay such a creature. They can be evil and dangerous, but also beneficial. Perhaps they are not evil in this society… just terrifying. The dragon does not terrorize the people in the aforementioned Folios, or even the passage at the heart of this exhibit, but is slayn due to its significant nature and bearing which scares locals or proves to be an obstruction or challenge of power.