The dragon has a unique place in world culture. This mythical beast appears in almost every corner of the planet, but in different cultures it plays different roles, not always negative ones. The motif of the dragon and other similar creatures appears surprisingly often on military items. Let’s try to find at least some of them in the “Arms and Armour” exhibition – it’s a great opportunity to learn how to search and look for details in museums.
The first dragon can be found by approaching the panoply with oriental weapons. Standing opposite, we have to look for a weapon typical of the Balkans – the scimitar – on our left.
Some of the presented scimitars are placed in scabbards. This is a deliberate move. In more expensive and decorative examples, the scabbard not only served as a shelter for the blade, but also complemented the rich iconographic program of the weapon. If we look at some examples of scabbards, we will see many plant and decorative motifs, sometimes also traces of scales, and at the end of the scabbard – a small dragon’s snout. When inserted into the scabbard, the yataghan will resemble a dragon with wings, the role of which will be taken over by a wide handle, divided into characteristic “ears”.
The dragon in the Ottoman Empire had a different meaning than, for example, in Europe, where it was associated with a voracious creature. At the Sultan’s court (as in the Far East) it was associated with a divine being with positive qualities.
Showcase 13 contains a number of edged weapons. We need to find the one with the straight blade. It is a broadsword with a Polish hilt and a blade made in Persia. If we look closely at its decoration and let the light shine on the patterns that appear on it, we can find the image of a dragon among them. For the sake of simplicity, the dragon in the illustration has been highlighted against the background. Because of the handle, the weapon is mounted in a showcase with the dragon upside down.
In this case, the dragon is fighting the bird Simurg among the rich golden vines. Here the dragon is the embodiment of evil and the Simurg the embodiment of good, protecting the Tree of Life.
The legend of the dragon became popular with firearms, probably due to the simple association of spitting fire from its open “mouth” – the barrel. In the history of artillery we know of many guns called “dragon”. The holders used to attach a smouldering fuse to a hand-held firearm were also called dragons. These were replaced by hammers or cocks that held a rock (pyrite) in their “jaws” and struck sparks. These hammers were therefore often fancifully decorated to resemble mythical beasts.
One of these can be seen on a shotgun covered with metal sheet. You can see the eye and the teeth, which resemble a mouth when the hammer’s jaws are open.
Sometimes, the cock of a firearm could take on very complex shapes, giving the old craftsmen greater scope for decoration. If we are lucky, we can find an example of such an imaginative and meaningful hammer decoration among hunting weapons, on a green wall.
In this case, the hammer decoration represents St George’s fight with a dragon. He is dressed in old knight’s armour, and a horse can also be seen jumping over a dragon that George has impaled on a lance. Note how fantastically the round finger grip, used to pull the hammer, is creating a long, curling dragon’s tail. Beneath the dragon is another mythical creature – a mermaid. Let us recall that in the legend of St George, probably one of the most popular in European history and repeated many times in art, the dragon made his lair by a river that supplied the local inhabitants with drinking water. In order to collect it, they had to make sacrifices until fate chose the princess, who was fortunately rescued by George, whose act led the inhabitants to embrace Christianity. The siren is therefore not a random element here, but refers to the river over which the duel took place.
The jaws, which have barbs inside to hold the rock like teeth, are decorated in the shape of a predatory plant.
Saint George fighting the dragon also appears on another hunting rifle. This time it decorates the stock of the weapon and is made of mother-of-pearl, engraved and then covered with black paint to create a drawing that contrasts with the background.
Hunting Weapons also includes examples of edged weapons. Two of them are decorated with images of dragons. Here is one of the hangers, the handle of which is cast in brass and shaped like a goat’s or deer’s hoof. But the crossguard, the element that separates the hilt from the blade and allows it to protect the hand, has the shape of a sitting or perhaps hunting dragon. On one side we see the head on a long neck, then the body with one wing and a short curled tail.
Placed on a rotating platform so that its magnificent decoration can be seen from all sides, the gun is a return to the idea of decorating firearm hammers with dragon motifs. In this case, there are two hammers and two dragons. The scales on the arms of the hammers give them away, as well as a visible eye and a row of tiny teeth on the edges of the jaws, between which a stone has been placed, like a dragon’s prey.
We remain in the part of the exhibition devoted to courtly and luxury weapons. The last window, which displays gun cases, also shows decorative powder flasks, which were used to store and conveniently pour gunpowder. They have stoppers in various shapes, including a dog’s mouth and a dragon’s mouth, with a small chain in the teeth to prevent the stopper with this unusual design from being lost.
Drawer 21 is entirely devoted to dragons and dragon-like creatures. It contains, among other things, a medallion for Hussar armour with another image of St George fighting the dragon. It was one of the most popular legends about the battle between good and evil.
The most interesting item is a Polish nobleman’s cartridge pouch, used to store ammunition. On its gilded lid is the image of a creature resembling a crocodile, cut from silver and decorated with black paste (niello). Perhaps the riddle of how to recognise the beast is hidden in the object in front of him. Some see it as a pierced heart, but another theory sees it as a decorative lady’s mirror with a handle. If it is a mirror, then the monster must be a basilisk, although it was rarely depicted in this form, more often as a creature with a rooster’s head. The pouch is accompanied by a 17th-century Italian dagger, the crossguard of which is in the shape of a small but rather vicious-looking dragon.
In the display case dedicated to the period of the Napoleonic Wars, some of the weapons on display are luxurious, courtly weapons. Among them is a shotgun with the imperial numeral “N” studded with gold on the butt, probably belonging to a set of weapons directly associated with the court of Napoleon I. The craftsmen of that time, in keeping with the times, abundantly decorated the weapons with ancient and mythological motifs. This shotgun is no different. This detail is certainly difficult to notice due to its location – on the so-called lock counter plate. It depicts probably the most realistic dragon ever found at the exhibition. He is sitting on one of the screws securing the slide in the stock, on which he rests his paws on one side and his long, lizard-like tail on the other, breathing toxic smoke towards other, unrelated hunting motives.
The last of the dragons again concerns the crossguard of an edged weapon. This unusual sword belonged to a Hungarian dignitary. Its hilt and scabbard are not only gilded, but also decorated with stones and coloured enamel. The arms of the crossguard are in the form of two dragons breathing smoke or fire.