On occasion of the National Day 2/9/2006, the Museum of History of Vietnam organizes the exhibition on the theme “Ceramics of Phu Lang, before and nowadays”, presenting the collections of ancient ceramics of Phu Lang (17 – 18 th centuries) of the Museum of History of Vietnam as well as some private collections and a choice of the collection of ceramics Nhung, created by an artist of the village Phu Lang.
On occasion of the National Day 2/9/2006, the Museum of History of Vietnam organizes the exhibition on the theme “Ceramics of Phu Lang, before and nowadays”, presenting the collections of ancient ceramics of Phu Lang (17 – 18
th centuries) of the Museum of History of Vietnam as well as some private collections and a choice of the collection of ceramics Nhung, created by an artist of the village Phu Lang.
Some informations about the Phu Lang ceramics.
Phu Lang: is a village of the district of Que Vo, province of Bac Ninh, 60km from Hanoi.
The ceramics village of Phu Lang is a village of the Kinh Bac region, having the ceramics production as traditional craft. It is known as one of the three centers of antique ceramics of the Red River delta (Phu Lang, Tho Ha and Bat Trang).
History of the Phu Lang ceramics: After the tradition, the ancestor of the Phu Lang ceramics is Luu Phong Tu, living in the dynasty of Ly. At the end of the dynasty of Ly, he was envoyed to China as a member of a vietnamese delegation. In China, he learned the mysteries of the ceramics profession and when back in Vietnam he transmitted them to his compatriots. In the beginning, the profession was trasmitted to the population at the two banks of river Luc Dau, then to the region of Van Kiep (Hai Duong). At the beginning of the dynasty of Tran (XIIIrd century), it arrives to Central Phu Lang.
Characteristics of the Phu Lang ceramics: Phu Lang ceramics are famous since hundreds of years for their gross matter and their “eel-skin” enamel. Since a long time, Phu Lang ceramics are well-known in domestic products such as cooking-pots, vases, jars, coffins.
All the stages of the production process of the Phu Lang ceramics from the form modelling to the putting into oven are executed by hand. That is why the products, though belonging to the same series, are not identical in shape nor in the colour of enamel.
The enamel of the Phu Lang ceramics is not as brilliant as the enamel of the white ceramics of Bat Trang. The colour is not uniform but has light and dark places, places with crackled enamel and places with contracted enamel. That fact puts into relief the robustness of the brown ceramics of Phu Lang.
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Like other traditional villages in Vietnam, the Phu Lang ceramics have up and down periods, especially in 1987-1992 when they are submitted to the severe concurrence of plastic domestic products. Anyhow the Phu Lang people succeeded to preserve the profession of their village. At last, they have found a new orientation for their ceramics: it is the artistical ceramics, of all types, forms and decorations. The chief theme for the ceramics of Phu Lang is the image of their traditional village with the popular themes of decoration. The worker of Phu Lang ceramics today understands more than anyone that the soul of ceramics is just the soul of the native country. They give their soul in each of their products. It is in that spirit that many visitors come to Phu Lang as in pilgrimage to see once again the familiar place with straw-huts, tiled roofs and bamboo fences.
In this exhibition, the Museum of History of Vietnam will place besides ancient products of Phu Lang ceramics such as incense vases, pots… a choice of artistical products, of Nhung ceramics, so that those who have not been in Phu Lang can contemplate these products at the very Museum of History of Vietnam.
The Phu Lang ceramics, with its traditional characteristics and the sensitiveness of the contemporary artists will recover its place among vietnamese traditional ceramics and will throw in relief the popular cultural character in the mind of friends in the world.