Dillon, the Asian Dragon

(click on photos to see enlargements)




Dillon is made from sheet steel from the company of the same name.

I could never have made such a dragon before having visited Asia in late 2004 and through out 2005. Orignally, Dillon was commissioned in the summer of 2004, and had a very European style to him.

Unlike Western dragons, Asian dragons are wise and benevolent beings. Notice Dillon has no wings. Dragons are considered to be creatures of the air and no more need wings to move around their element than a cloud does. The base plates on which the pieces stand, have holes in them so the dragon can be mounted with bolts onto a variety of surfaces. The plates are painted blue and gold to represent the sky and clouds into which and through which the dragon writhes.

Asian dragons are far less lizard like than Western dragons. The Asian dragon has forward facing eyes and a more human like nose. In its claw or in its mouth is the “Pearl of Perfection.”


Oriental dragons have three fingers and a thumb unless they are appearing on the seal of an emperor. They are considered to writhe in and out of the sky and clouds, so the pieces are often set on blue mountings representing the clouds or sky itself. The tail is almost always depicted as paddle like and covered with feathers (?) or flames (?).


Loosely translated into English, it is said the Chinese believe the appearance of dragons is “good luck.” More correctly, it is considered “auspicious.” Dragons are thought to be very sensitive to the balance and harmony of a place---they are not to be found where anger, disharmony, or any sort of moral or psychic disturbance is to be found.

Finally, I observed one other thing about Taiwanese dragon sculptures. Often they had a red ribbon tied around their neck. Upon inquiry, I found this was to keep the dragon sculpture from coming to life. Evidently, no self respecting dragon would be caught living wearing a red ribbon. Anyway, this keeps them immobile and unlikely to leave the temple, taking their calming influence elsewhere. If you know differently, or can expand on my limited Asian dragon knowledge, please write me at
haasjoel AT gmail.com

You can also see a lot more and lot larger photos of Dillon in an album I posted on Flickr. There are a lot of photos of Dillon being built in this album as well as a few photos of him lighted up for a Christmas party (how convenient he had the big red bow!)
Here is the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/joelhaas/sets/1574547/