Material Object
The primary artefact chosen is a 10-11th century Jet gemstone seal inscribed with the phrase “Re[ly] on God” in Arabic (Inscribed Seal, accessed 2023). The seal has a primarily black exterior with light colored cracking and inscribed text on the front face. The seal is roughly wedge-shaped with a pointed tip opposite the inscribed face. Near the tip is a hole pierced through the stone, described by the museum catalogue as evidence for this seal being worn on a string or chain (Inscribed Seal, accessed 2023). The gemstone is small, measuring 2cm on its longest side.
Seal rings and inscribed seals historically are known to be tools used to create seals for the purpose of an official signature (Allan, Sourdel, and Ed, 2012). They are additionally known to be objects that were believed to protect their owners from harm by invoking religious powers from their inscriptions (Ruska, Carra de Vaux, and Bosworth, 2012). The museum catalogue specifies that this inscribed seal bears no name of an owner which suggests that its purpose was more for protection as protective seals have inscriptions of “a pious or auspicious character” (such as God) and have an “absence of a personal name” (Allan, Sourdel, and Ed, 2012). Such 'talismans' were culturally important for early Muslims as protective objects with children even being given talismans “as soon as they are forty days old” although the exact inscriptions varied greatly (Ruska, Carra de Vaux, and Bosworth, 2012).
This secondary artefact is a seal ring, similar to the inscribed seal primary artefact. This ring is notably fancier with a silver shank and a lapis-lazuli engraved stone. The text on this ring translates to the name “Hajji Muhammad ibn Mahmud” and is likely from the 16th century (Seal Ring, accessed 2023). This specific ring likely played more of the official signature type role described above as it contains a name and no religious invocations. Despite this, the museum catalogue still mentions that rings like these “may also have functioned as talismans used to protect their owners from harm” (Seal Ring, accessed 2023).
This secondary artefact is a 19th century illustration of the story of the Fisherman and the Demon by William Harvey for a 1912 publication. Details captured in this modern rendition include the incorporeal smoke form and large size mentioned previously although the size depicted here is smaller than the text descriptions. Of particular note is the difference in physical features between the Haddawy translation and the Harvey illustration. The Haddawy translation mentions many beastly and exaggerated features such as “fangs like pincers”, “nostrils like trumpets”, and “ears like shields” ending with “In short, all one can say is that he was a hideous monster” (2018, pg. 624). The illustration here depicts none of those exaggerated features. Anne Duggan suggests that the editor and illustrator deliberately made an illustrative choice to depict this demon like “the gods of antiquity” to differentiate “white Jinnees, who represent a supernatural force outside of a sexual context” from “black Jinnees” (2015). Racial implications aside, this modern depiction furthers the detail that this monster has otherworldly power as the illustrator added details to compare the demon with powerful gods. Even the modern illustrator, centuries removed from the original storytellers, seeks to make the otherworldly power of the demon known through comparisons with gods.
These artefacts demonstrate the cultural importance of seal rings as talismans for protection against harm and the ever-present details of the demon’s power and incorporate form. The next section looks at the importance of these details in making the demon unique among medieval monsters.