Artifacts
An artifact that I have chosen for this exhibition is the 'Demon in Chains’. This painting depicts two people in nomadic garb leading a demon, or Persian div, in chains between them (Lee,p 24,52). The concept of demons or div as terrifying supernatural creatures can be traced back to pre-Islamic Persia, but they are also described in the text of the Qur'an. The captured demons in Persian literature are occasionally forced to use their magic to serve a king or hero, which could be a potential outcome of this story in the painting.
Another artifact that I found to be pertinent to my discussion of Ifrits in the Thousand and One Nights is the 1898 painting by Rene Bull, which depicts the Ifrit in “The Story of the Fisherman and the demon" (Bull, Rene). The Ifrit in this painting is huge and all-encompassing, towering over the fisherman, who is cowering in terror at the corner of the image. The fisherman is begging for his life in the picture. The Ifrit emerges from a huge plume of smoke. He wears a menacing expression and is depicted to have big, bulging eyes, thick lips, white teeth, and brown skin. All these depictions of the Ifrit conform to racist stereotypes that were common in the 20th century.
A supplemental artifact that I will use for the exhibit is the depiction of a Jar (also called an albarello), that has been painted in black with lotus medallions, similar to the one described in the tale of the fisherman and the jinni (The metropolitan museum of art, 1256-1353). The jar is enclosed within a Buddhist-inspired, teardrop shaped frame. It has an estimated production date from 1300 to 1350. This ware is from the Ilkhanid Sultanabad dynasty, and it displays Chinese-inspired motifs, possibly due to the close contact between the Mamluks and the Ilkhanids. The jar originates from Iran and thus would have been similar to the jar used in the tale of The Fisherman and the Demon in One Thousand and One Nights.