1963.24, Dragon head finial, Iran Sljuk period, 11th-14th centuries

Metal ornaments like this mythic dragon decorated the tops of poles carried in religious processions. Although made for Muslim festivals, the dragon is an age-old figure in North Asian art.

The cosmopolitan society of the Roman Empire left a tradition of craftsmanship in metal, ceramic, textiles, jewelry, and glass which long survived the Empire as a political entity. Although this dragon finial comes from the Sljuk Turkish period of the 11th to 14th centuries CE, it stems from a tradition of animal art in bronze going back to Near Eastern antiquity.

Anne Bromberg, DMA Label copy, 2003.

Until 1963: World Antiquities, Ltd., New York, NY [1]

From 1963: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts [2]

[1] Object card found in Collections Records Object File 1963.24

[2] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983

Apply to objects where number equals 1963.24