On the afternoon of June 22, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center, in coordination with the Ho Chi Minh City Antiquities Association and domestic antique collectors, held the opening ceremony of the exhibition with the theme "Convergence of Antiques" at Kien Trung Palace, Hue Imperial City.
Director of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center Hoang Viet Trung said that the exhibition creates activities related to the long-standing traditional hobby of the people and at the same time creates new experiences for people and tourists in the heritage space when coming to Hue Imperial City. This is also an opportunity for domestic antique collectors to exchange and share experiences in collecting antiques - a job that requires players to not only be passionate about and cherish heritage but also have knowledge of culture and history.
Accordingly, 29 domestic antique collectors introduced 147 antiques crafted under the Nguyen Dynasty, used in the royal court and among the people; crafted by the Hue Royal Court's statue department, produced by domestic production establishments (Cay Mai pottery, wooden furniture...) or ordered and purchased from abroad for use (elephant enamel, porcelain...). The collections of artifacts converge in diversity in materials (elephant enamel: gold, silver, silver inlaid with gold, jade, porcelain with engraved style, wood...), usage functions (daily life, worship, decoration, entertainment...) and rich in types and origins (elephant enamel and porcelain with engraved style under the Nguyen Dynasty, Cay Mai pottery lines, artifacts dating back to the 19th century...).
Typical examples at the exhibition include the collection of “Do koi kich” by collector Le Thanh Nghia; the collection of enamel by collector Nguyen Do Nhu Anh; the collection of gold plaques by collector Than Viet Hung; the “Mai hac” porcelain plate by collector Mai Ba Thien; the inkstone, pen holder, enamel box, silver vase, wooden tray, bronze seal by collector Nguyen Trung Thanh; the wooden tray and pipe by collector Truong Van Chanh… In particular, Thua Thien - Hue has 5 collectors sending artifacts to participate, mainly enamel, porcelain and wood.
This is the first antique exhibition that brings together antique collectors from three regions of the country (Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Nam Dinh, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Hanoi, Thua Thien - Hue...) to participate.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Antiquities Association Le Thanh Nghia shared: Hue is the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty, so the number of Nguyen Dynasty antiques is still preserved in many museums and private collections. This source of antiques receives special attention from antique collectors. Collecting antiques is a hobby that requires players to have knowledge of cultural history and that knowledge must be regularly updated. Hopefully in the future, there will be similar exhibitions so that private collectors have the opportunity to introduce their collections to the public; actively contributing to the preservation and promotion of national cultural heritage.
The exhibition runs until July 21.