The old ceramic statues preserved in VNMH are very impressive items with multiple styles and materials.
The ceramic statues are the earliest arts in human civilization in the world. In Vietnam, it appeared thousands years ago and still popular now. Through time, the material, forms, technical and decorative quality of ceramic statues are improved and developed.
Royal woman statue, ceramic - 15th century (Cu Lao Cham shipwreck, Quang Nam province)
We can find the ceramic statue in Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, Go Mun cultures (about 4000 years ago, bronze ages) the human and animal statues. Coming to the feudal periods, it became more diversified in color, material and decoration. At this time, it did not also serve for artistic demand but also for life and religious practices.
The dragon couple, end of 19th century (Bat Trang village, Hanoi)
With the desire to introduce to visitors about the ancient Vietnamese ceramic statue arts, VNMH is going to hold a temporary exhibition on this.
The exhibition will display about 50 objects dating back from Ly dynasty to Nguyen dynasty and dividing into 3 groups, including life, religious and architectural purposes.
We hope this exhibition will bring you enjoyment and respect to our national cultural values. The exhibition will be available from 22/04/2014 to end of August 2014 at no. 1 Trang Tien street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi.
By Thu Nhuan
EN: Tran Trang