MEDIA CONTACTS:
Angela Olson, [email protected]
The George Washington University
Chita Middleton, [email protected]
The Textile Museum
Washington, D.C.—In the spirit of the East Asian calendar’s Year of the Dragon, just days after the Chinese New Year, The Textile Museum is opening a playful and colorful exhibition titled Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep (February 3, 2012 – January 6, 2013). The exhibition presents 16 objects drawn from cultures as diverse as the ancient Mediterranean world, imperial China and contemporary South America, portraying dragons as everything from medieval fire-breathing beasts to friendly and beneficent water gods.
A Global Beast
While dragons are born from fantasy, their depiction is often surprisingly similar across time and place. Dragons, Nagas, and Creatures of the Deep reveals these shared stylistic roots.
The English word “dragon” derives from the Greek drákōn, meaning “water snake” or “large serpent.” A 5th-century tunic panel from Egypt depicts a Nereid (sea goddess) riding a mythical horse-fish beast. Water dragons were also common throughout Southeast Asia. In the folklore and decorative arts of India and Southeast Asia, deities taking the form of fantastical snakes, or nagas, abound. Nagas controlled rain—the life-force of rice-growing peoples throughout the region—and were also considered connections to the spirit world. Included in the exhibition are two textiles decorated with nagas from the Lao-Tai people of Laos, precious pieces once used in ritual and shamanistic ceremonies.
Greco-Roman stylizations influenced medieval artists in Western Europe, who began associating dragons with fire. Many Western cultures portrayed dragons as terrifying, fire-breathing beasts to be feared by the common people and destroyed by sword-wielding protectors. Stories of heroes fighting serpentine beasts also play out in ancient Near Eastern cultures, depicted in the exhibition on luxurious velvet from the Safavid dynasty (1501-1722) of present-day Iran.
This exhibition demonstrates contemporary translations of dragon imagery as well: a mola panel from Panama, made by a Kuna woman in the 1960s, playfully interprets a dragon above the colorful letters “D-R-A-G-O-N”. The source for this image is likely a children’s alphabet book.
The Dragon as a Symbol of Power
Whether creatures of good or evil, dragons in every culture were unquestionably powerful, and became a symbol for both prestige and protection.
In China, certain styles of dragons were reserved for use by the emperor and ruling class, and the way they were illustrated was determined by social rules outlined in dynastic laws. For example, use of front-facing dragons was prohibited for anyone below the noble classes. Only the imperial family was permitted to wear dragons with 5 claws. A stunningly woven 18th century coat made during the Qing dynasty includes several dragons with one claw painstakingly removed from each foot—indicating its second owner altered the garment to suit their social standing.
When the Buddhist faith spread to East Asia in the first centuries CE, people in this region began to regard dragons as protectors of Buddha and Buddhist law. A rug which covered a column in a Buddhist temple in Tibet, Mongolia, or western China illustrates an auspicious dragon surrounded by the symbols of Buddhist law. While red flames emanate from its body, this dragon protects from evil and harm.
The Year of the Dragon is said to be a year of energy and change. The image of the dragon has been shifted and reshaped in cultures throughout time and across the world, but they fascinate and delight us in all of their forms.