Kuehn Sara. The Dragon in Medieval East Christian and Islamic Art

Brill, 2011. — 298 p., 92 pls. — (Islamic History and Civilization 86). — ISBN 978-90-04-18663-7.This book is part of a much longer and comprehensive study on which Dr Kuehn has been labouring for over a decade and whose aim is to trace the iconography of the composite mythical creature known as the serpent-dragon from the mists of antiquity to the later middle ages. Her geographical focus in the study as a whole is principally Western and Central Asia but she remains continually alert to the manifestations of her theme in neighbouring cultures to the east (including India and China) and the west. The continuity of this arresting image across vast gulfs of space and time in the most diverse cultures of the Old World from the Atlantic to the Pacific is quite startling.Altogether this is pioneering original work, and it demonstrates an enviable capacity to move from one culture to another – classical, Christian, Zoro- astrian, Islamic – in a remarkably sure-footed way. It is packed with cogent arguments and unexpected insights. Dr Kuehn is a born explorer and has a natural affinity for cross-cultural work. She disdains the quick fix and is ready to do whatever is required to prove her point. Her list of authorities is startling in its length and completeness .But those authorities are merely a means to an end – the tale’s the thing, and it casts a potent spell.