UNESCO to attend capital city’s 1,000th birthday

Representatives of 193 UNESCO members have passed a resolution on the participation in the grand ceremony to mark the millennial anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi in October, 2010.

The adoption was made at the 35 th UNESCO General Assembly session on Oct. 22.

According to Pham Sanh Chau, Head of the Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Relations Culture and UNSECO, UNESCO participation in the event is not only an honour for the Hanoians but also for all Vietnamese people.

The news, together with the election of Vietnam to UNESCO’s executive council for the 2009-2013 period, prove the international community’s recognition to the Southeast Asian country’s role, position and contributions to UNESCO./.

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Exhibition presents 1,000 years of Vietnamese ceramic works

An exhibition of Vietnamese ceramics spanning 1,000 years and several dynasties has opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.

Ngan Nam Gom Viet (A Thousand Years of Vietnamese Ceramics) features 260 artefacts that traces the development of national traditional ceramics during the reigns of the Ly, Tran, Earlier Le, Mac, Le Trung Hung (Later Le), and Nguyen dynasties.

The Ly and Tran dynasties, who reigned from the 11th to 15th century, were famous for jade-glazed bowls and tea pots, and glaze ceramics produced in different shades including green, white and brown.

The traditional vocation flourishes to this day in the craft villages of Bat Trang and Phu Lang in Hanoi and Bac Ninh province, respectively.

White-and-blue glazed ceramics having a high, brown base with underglazed cobalt floral decorations were produced from the 15th to 18th century during the Le dynasty as well as the Mac and Le Trung Hung dynasties.

The Nguyen dynasty in 19th and 20th century, the last of the feudal rulers in Vietnam, saw the development of Vietnamese ceramics in southern region.

Lai Thieu in Binh Duong province, Bien Hoa in Dong Nai province and Cay Mai in HCM City's Cho Lon (Big Market) emerged as famous centres of ceramic production.

The exhibition is being organised by the HCM City Museum, Vietnam History Museum in HCM City, HCM City Fine Arts Museum, Southern Women's Museum, HCM City Antiques Association and private collectors to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi./.

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1,000th anniversary of Hanoi comes nearer, cultural projects rushed to completion

As there are only about three months left to the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, important cultural projects are being accelerated to complete in time for the national celebration, reports the Vietnam News Agency.
Early this month, the 80-ton statue of Thanh Giong at the peak of Da Chong Mountain in Phu Linh Commune, Soc Son District, Hanoi was nearly finished. On an area of 10,000 square meters, workers worked hard to try to fulfill the project at the end of August. Tourist services, including guest houses, small restaurants and auxiliary decorations, are also being developed around the site.

Hanoi Museum, in My Dinh Commune, Tu Liem District, is entering the final phase of construction. Located near the National Convention Center, the museum covers an area of about 54,000 square meters and has an investment of more than VND2.3 trillion.

The museum will have the shape of an upside-down four-storied pyramid built by GMP International GmbH-Inros Lackner AG, a German company. Expected to open on October 9, the museum will display artifacts arranged in three themes. The natural conditions of Hanoi, Thang Long culture in Ly and Tran dynasties and Dai Viet culture will be represented on the first and second floors while the third and the fourth floors will feature artists’ collections.

Another important project that is worth mentioning is the Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural. Work on the decoration of the road is currently conducted by Italian artist Guiseppe Mastropierro and local artists of Tan Ha Noi Arts Company. The ceramic mosaic section highlights the similarities and differences between Vietnamese and Italian cultures through images of sacred objects in the literature and history of the two countries. Vietnamese culture is represented via the image of a big golden-shell turtle, holding a sword in its mouth presenting the legend of Ho Guom (the Sword Lake); One-Pillar Pagoda and Khue Van Cac (Pavilion of Constellation of Literature).

Meanwhile, a blue dragon stretching over the Coloseum arena with Leonardo Da Vinci’s portrait and the painting La Jaconde on its body is considered the symbol of Italy.

Early last month, a 65-square-meter ceramic picture of vivid colors and images displaying the typical features of Argentina was unveiled. The picture is set right under the Long Bien bridge pier and stretches 25 meters along the embankment. It depicts the lively colored lines of Tango dances and beautiful sceneries of the tropical country of Argentina.

As a cultural community project that gained much public attention in the past two years, the ceramic road attracts the active participation and enthusiasm of international and local artists who use many kinds of ceramics from famous craft villages, such as Bat Trang, Chu Dau, Binh Duong, Vinh Long and Bau Truc.

The project, running from An Duong border gate to Van Kiep border gate on an area of about 6,500 square meters, includes 21 ceramic mosaic painting sections in diverse themes. The first section honors the art heritage of the Vietnamese’ forefathers through Dong Son Culture to Ly, Tran, Le and Nguyen dynasties. The second section expresses the cultures of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam.

The third one, themed “Hanoi-the city for peace”, is carried out by international and local children. Contemporary Vietnamese and international artists will take charge of the work from the fourth to the ninth sections.

Journalist Nguyen Thu Thuy who initiated the project said “Ninety percent of the project has been completed. These days, artists, sculptors, fine arts students and artisans are putting in great effort to finish the final sections. After the completion date on September 15, the organizing board will submit documents to register the “Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural” as the longest ceramic road in the world for the Guinness World Records.

Project “Thang Long bookcase” has debuted over 20 book titles in relation to the national celebration. Started six years ago, the project has attracted 300 scientists and experts in many fields. About 100 book titles in geography, fine arts and literature, history, social culture and general documentation will debut in October. Though the books, readers will gain an insight into every aspect of Thang Long-Hanoi during its 1,000-year history. The project will serve as the foundation for future research on Hanoi.

(Source: SGT)

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Tran Do displays 1,000 ceramic works in Hanoi

The exhibition “Tran Do Pottery – Looking Back and Experimenting”, by Tran Do, one of the most famous artisans from Hanoi’s Bat Trang pottery village, opened at Van Mieu (the Temple of Literature), in Hanoi last week.

A thousand works, to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi, convey the beauty of Bat Trang’s pottery, using both traditional and innovative techniques.

They include ancient glazed styles, like the green of 11th century Vietnam, brown of the Ly dynasty, deep blue of the Mac Dynasty and multi-colors of the later Le and Nguyen Dynasty.

Born in 1957 in Bat Trang village, Tran Do was involved in the craft from the age of 10, in the 18th generation of a family with a long tradition of making ceramics.

Through a 40-year career, Tran Do has been the author of hundreds of diplomatic gifts. The most highlighted is a wine bottle that Vietnam’s Government Office offered as souvenirs for country representatives attending the ASEM5 Summit in Hanoi in 2004. A year later, Tran Do was selected to make a batch of 219 works to be sent to the US and Canada as diplomatic gifts. Of them, 10 are replicas of originals in the Fine Arts Museum and the Museum of Vietnamese History in Hanoi. Missing originals of which images remain in old books have become new replicas.

When asked about the secrets of making ceramics, Tran Do said, “Glazes are right under our feet, under every road. I will hand out the craft with my own technology and secrets to anyone who has passion for pottery.”

(Source: VNA)

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