“Dragon Exhibition: Images in Material Culture” showcases items, photographs and texts featuring dragons in artefacts such as wood carvings, textiles, sculptures, ceramics and metalwork from different cultural backgrounds.
Traditionally portrayed as a massive, serpent-like creature endowed with mystical powers, the dragon figured prominently in the belief systems of ancient civilisations.
Far beyond China, where it stood as a central cultural symbol, the dragon has also appeared in Malay, Japanese, Korean, Indian, European and Latin American traditions.
Perak museum department director Nasrulamiazam Mohd Nasir said the origins of dragon worship in Southeast Asia remain uncertain, although some scholars suggest that local communities adapted the concept from India into their own cultures.
Nevertheless, debates and unanswered questions remain over when and how dragon elements from India were combined into serpent-dragon worship in Southeast Asia.
“Previous studies have shown that dragon worship and belief in serpent spirits already existed in Southeast Asia before the arrival of the major religions in the region,” he said.
“Clear examples can be seen in the remnants of indigenous serpent cult traditions, such as the dragon and hornbill traditions of the Dayak Ngadju community in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which exist until today.
“Additionally, when rulers became actively involved in maritime trade, they began invoking the ‘dragon spirit’ to dominate sea territories and to obtain new resources,” he noted.
Nasrulamiazam highlighted that compared to Indonesia, the use of dragon motifs in Malaysia is very limited.
“Historically, the use of dragon motifs on cultural objects here – such as jars, pottery, ceramics, kettles or gongs – showed that these objects were to some extent influenced by external cultures, especially Javanese, Siamese and Chinese.
“Nevertheless, there are some discoveries of tools produced by the Malays that featured the dragon as a theme in their carvings. Dragon motifs were sometimes created by Malay craftsmen, particularly in wood carvings for boat prows, quail traps and weapon hilts.
“Similarly, in metalwork, certain cannons such as the ‘lela rentaka’ incorporated dragon head designs on the barrel or handles.”
Nasrulamiazam said the collections in the exhibition were sourced from the National Museum and Perak Museum, which expects more to welcome over 100,000 visitors.
“Dragon Exhibition: Images in Material Culture” is slated to run until Jan 31.
Perak Museum
Jalan Taming Sari,
34000 Taiping, Perak