Hobbit2 - Chapter 14 - Fire and Water

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Estelyn Telcontar

That bit reminds me of Eustace and the curse of the dragon hoard in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Traditionally treasure that has been held by dragons is thought to carry evil with it. There's a similar set of taboos on archeological digs, for example graves of ancient Egyptian Pharoahs. Someone is usually foolhardy and/or greedy enough to try anyway, but the results are said to be catastrophic for that person.

Along that line, compare the description of the treasure of Nargothrond after Glaurung's death:

....Mîm the Petty-Dwarf had found his way to Nargothrond, and crept within the ruined halls; and he took possession of them, and sat there fingering the gold and the gems, letting them run run ever through his hands, for none came nigh to despoil him, from dread of the spirit of Glaurung and his very memory.

The Silmarillion Of the Ruin of Doriath

Of course, Mîm did come to a bad end, right there at the location of the treasure.

Then again, Dáin and his kingdom apparently weren't affected by any curse on Erebor from Smaug's tenure there. Maybe that was mitigated in that case by Dáin's openhandedness and resistance to the typical Dwarvish avarice.

To me, it's also reminiscent of the "curse" that lay on the treasure of Doriath that was drowned in the river Ascar after Beren killed the Lord of Nogrod.