The Vietnam National Museum of History (VNMH), which has been established with the mergence of the Museum of Vietnamese History and the Museum of Vietnamese Revolutionary, is the leading museum in Vietnam.
One of its missions is to instruct and assist other museums, relics and exhibition houses in the country and to be the organization for holding cultural and international exchange activities.
Through its activities, VNMH has created favorable conditions for Vietnamese museums system in developing and enhancing the profession and efficiency in implementing the archaeological excavation, conservation, restoration, exhibition and foreign co-operation.
* Archaeological excavation:
In Vietnam, the Vietnamese Academy of Archaeology, the History Department belonged to the University of Science, Social and Humanities and the VNMH are three Vietnamese largest archaeological centers. For the past few years, VNMH has collaborated with local and international museums to run frequently and continually the research, investigation and excavation. The outstanding excavations are Thap Mam relic (Binh Dinh province), Hoa Diem relic (Khanh Hoa province), Bai Coi, Bai Loi relics (Ha Tinh province), Cam Mit relic (Da Nang), Phuong Nhi mountain relic (Nam Dinh province), Sam Mun citadel relic (Dien Bien province)…
The VNMH and Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture personnel at the excavation site of Cam Mit, Cam Toai Dong hamlet, Hoa Phong commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang City, July 2012
- Such excavations have brought the valuable objects equipped with fully profiles and documentations for VNMH and local museums.
- Through such excavations, museum personnel got chances to improve the knowledge, qualification and researching approaches.
- For the past few years, the VNMH’s large scaled archaeological studies and excavations have contributed to fulfill the scientific documentations for some special national relics, some of them later have become world cultural heritages (such as Lam Kinh, Hue, Hoa Lu, Thang Long Royal Citadel sites).
At present, VNMH is the unique museum in Vietnam that has the international influence and credit in the research and archaeological excavation field. It has been an intermediary for Vietnamese museums to collaborate and learn from worldwide museums like with Beijing Museum and Academy of Archaeology, with Sichuan, Shensi, Guangxi, Zunnan provinces, China, with the National Museum of South Korea, the South Korea Marine Cultural Heritage Academy, the South Korea National Cultural Academy, with the Asian Northeast University, Japan…
* Conservation, Restoration and Inspection of Objects
So far, the VNMH is said to be the leading museum in Vietnam in the field of conservation and restoration and international co-operation for exchange the materials, technology and personnel training.
The VNMH, Thanh Hoa Museum and Ho Chi Minh Cultural University personnel in Belgium for a training program of objects preservation and restoration, January 2013
Its collaborative activities with local museums are as the follows:
- Consulting and practicing conservation methods of objects for Nam Dinh Museum, Thai Binh Museum, Hung Vuong Museum. Hanoi Museum, Ha Tinh museum and others.
- Expanding international co-operation to object conservations. In the past 10 years, VNMH has been the key partner in 3 continual stages of museum’s objects conservation program implemented by French Community of Belgium. This program aims at increasing the qualification and capability of material cultural heritages protection and conservation for Vietnamese museum personnel.
- Opening tens of training courses for objects protection and conservation at VNMH and Ho Chi Minh Cultural University.
+ Developing frameworks for studying subject of conservation for Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Cultural University.
+ Issuing books and magazines with articles about museum object conservation and instruction video tapes.
- Running the object inspections for local museums including Ho Chi Minh Museum of Vietnamese History, Ha Nam Museum, Hanoi Museum, Thai Nguyen Museum.
+ Instructing and exchanging experiences of object inventory and cataloguing for the Military History Museum and local museums.
+ Contributing proposals for a program of building and enhancing object management run by Department of Cultural Heritage.
* Exhibition, public education
VNMH has leaded in opening thematic exhibitions and educational programs with the collaboration with local museums. It helps to create favorable conditions for local visitors to see and understand about Vietnamese culture and history, improve the qualification for local museum personnel and strengthening the relationship between VNMH with local museums.
The exhibitions can be listed as “Antiquities and Tea” exhibition in Vietnamese Tea Festival, Thai Nguyen (11/2011), “ASEAN Antiquities” in HCM Museum of History (4-12/2012), “Red River Civilization”, Hanoi(11/2012) and Hai Phong City (5/2013), “Vietnamese Marine Cultural Heritage”, Lang Son (6/2013).
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“Vietnamese Marine Cultural Heritage” exhibition in Lang Son Museum
In the category of education, the operation of “I love history” club is highly appreciated for its efficiency. Since 2012, VNMH has collaborated with local museums to introduce about Vietnamese culture for thousands of high school students through the topics such as “Vietnamese fine art pottery”, “Uncle Ho with national reunification”, “Marine Silk Road” …
In the near future, under the orientation and strategy of development to 2020, VNMH will focus its resources to strengthen and expand the scale of operation, increase the quality and efficiency in the collaboration between VNMH with local museums. By that way, VNMH can play the leading role in the development and renovation of Vietnamese museums./.
Nguyễn Hoài Nam
English: Tran Trang