A dragon that demands attention

Paris. If the European dragon is a winged animal that breathes fire, the Asian dragon is more reminiscent of a snake. The Quai Branly exhibition opens with a video by Yang Yongliang where dragons undulate among the clouds, alongside two exceptional pieces loaned by the National Palace Museum in Taipei, co-producer of the exhibition. A blue and white Ming vase and an openwork jade dish illustrate the dragon’s association with nature in Chinese culture. Associate curator Julien Rousseau (curator at the Musée du quai Branly) specifies that “the dragon is considered the master of natural forces” in China from its origins, i.e. the end of the 4th millennium BC. The exhibition does not retrace the iconography of the dragon but explores its uses and its symbolism in decorative arts and calligraphy. The austere aspect of the theme is attenuated by an elegant scenography (Atelier Maciej Fiszer) with small windows, room texts on sort of unfolded scrolls and walls in bright colors (blue-green, red).

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Julien Rousseau concedes that the exhibition can be on the one hand ” complicated “ for a non-specialist audience, the dragon concentrates several symbolisms. Since the Neolithic, it has been linked to the power of kings and divinatory functions, as evidenced by bronze cups exhibited for the first time in France. Calligraphic manuscripts trace the evolution of ideograms designating the dragon, and the structuring of stories during the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) reinforcing the link between dragons and kings. The scenography alternates between display cases of manuscripts, paintings on scrolls and display cases of porcelain or stone objects, to show the diffusion of the dragon motif “in the literary arts”, according to the curator. In the section devoted to cosmogony, religious syncretism is highlighted by the objects on display: the dragon was adopted by Taoism and Chinese Buddhism, whether under the motif of the “nine dragons” or the sign of the Asian zodiac. A side room offers an immersive device created by the Taipei Museum where visitors move virtually in a painted landscape, animated with a dragon. Projections of clouds on certain walls allude to “the presence of the dragon”, according to Julien Rousseau, echoing the first video of the exhibition. The rest of the scenography – classic – continues with a section devoted to the fascination of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1796) for dragons, which he had carved on his seals and embroidered on his magnificent ceremonial outfits. Julien Rousseau recalls that it was in the 11th and 12th centuries that “ the texts formalized the exclusive link between the dragon and the emperor as well as the form of the five-clawed dragon”. This motif is found on popular objects exhibited at the end of the tour, and in the “dragon dances” which animate ritual festivals: a video and a long articulated dragon testify to the permanence of these dances in contemporary culture. If this exhibition requires an effort on the part of visitors, the scenography and exceptional pieces highlight the nuances of the Asian dragon.