THE DRAGON MOTIF ON PORTABLE OBJECTS
a Overview
variety of real or imaginary dangers The belief
in the magical power of images meant that they
By their very nature, portable artefacts are char-
could function as talismans intended, for instance,
acterised by their potential for movement across
to promote well-being and to protect from the
geographical, cultural and religious boundaries 1
power of evil This is related to the age-old belief
Most of the objects under discussion testify to
in the agency of envy and jealousy and the Evil
an overall westward migration of the dragon
Eye, which certainly survived through the medi-
iconography from the Western Central Asian
eval Islamic period,5 and the neutralisation of the
regions, facilitated by the movement of ever
harm that was intended to the person by wearing
growing numbers of Turkic-speaking tribes, the
such a piece Hence the serpent or dragon comes
dominant force being the Saljuqs, into Western
to be looked upon as harbinger of good luck and
Asia The latter took much from the artistic tra-
bestower of prosperity In addition, such objects
ditions of the Ghaznawids whose state they had
were often believed to endow their owners with
destroyed 2 During the Saljuq period, the main
certain abilities or powers One of the most wide-
artistic centres were located in greater Khurasan
spread functions of talismans was in the form
and northern Iran, with merchants and artisans
of amulets ( tamāʾim, sing tamīma, or taʿāwīdh,
becoming the principal bearers of cultural tra-
sing taʿwīdh) intended to gain the assistance of
ditions 3 Able to move freely in the enormous
unseen, supernatural forces that were believed
empire, which reached from Khurasan to Syria
to influence the affairs of humankind to achieve
and Asia Minor, the population aided the diffu-
certain desired outcomes It is of course impos-
sion of prevailing styles and tastes which had a
sible to fathom how “potent” the motif was for
“markedly Khurasanian flavour ”4
the wearer, it may indeed be that some did not
Belonging to a wider, shared visual culture
consider the dragon motif to have such explicit
across the medieval Central Asian sphere, por-
powers, using it as an ornament, but with prophy-
table objects shared emblematic themes, reflected
lactic intent In general, though, it may reason-
also on monumental representations The dragon
ably be conjectured that the dragon iconography
motif is found on a great variety of artefacts, nota-
carried implicit semantics imbued with passively
bly in the category of personal objects: specifi-
apotropaic, that is to say protective or actively
cally on accoutrements pertaining to the hunt
beneficial properties, in other words empowering
or war and objects of personal adornment The
qualities designed to be imparted to the wearer
semantic value of the dragon motif on the former
Other objects such as vessels with this ico-
would naturally have served to enhance the effi-
nography may often have functioned as porta-
cacy of these items When personal in nature and
ble “apotropaia ” In spite of the fact that many
worn on the body, objects with this motif were
pieces have a very varied iconography of which
popularly believed to provide the wearer with a
the dragon is only part, it may be hypothesised
prophylactic or apotropaic safeguard against a
that dragon motifs, too, served to magnify the
1 Cf Hoffman, 2001, pp 17–22
ibn Muhalhil al-Khazrajī al-yanbūʿī, known as Abū Dulaf,
2 Marshak, 1986, p 358
refers to beggars who wrote out talismanic charms and
3 Melikian-Chirvani, 1974, pp 112, 114; Marshak, 1986,
sold little clay tablets allegedly made from the earth of the
p 359
tomb of al-Ḥuseyn in Karbalāʾ, undoubtedly alluding to the
4 Cf Melikian-Chirvani, 1974, pp 112, 114 See also
production of amulets For this and further references, see
p 18, n 25
Bosworth, 1976, vol 1, pp 86–8, 90, 128, vol 2, pp 192,
5 In his Qaṣīdah Sāsānīyah, the tenth century poet Misʿar
198–9, 221, 243
36