On the occasion of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23) and the celebration of 100th anniversary of discovery and research on Dong Son culture (1924 - 2014), the thematic exhibition titled “Dong Son Echoes From The Past” was launched at the Vietnam National Museum of History (VNMH) on the morning of November 22nd, 2023.
Panorama of the opening ceremony
Participants of the opening ceremony included Mr. Hoang Dao Cuong - Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Prof. Dr. Luu Tran Tieu - Chairman of the National Council of Cultural Heritage; Assoc.Prof.Dr. Do Van Tru - Chairman of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, Prof. Dr. Pham Mai Hung - Vice President of Vietnam Association of Historical Science; Mr. Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism); Mr. Subhash Prasad Gupta - the Deputy Chief of Mission - Indian Embassy in Vietnam; Mr. Philippe Le Failler - Representative of the French School of the Far East in Ha Noi Dr. Nguyen Van Doan - Director of VNMN and representatives of museums and news agencies in Hanoi.
Dr. Nguyen Van Doan - Director of VNMH giving a speech at the opening ceremony
Delegates in ribbon cutting ceremony
Delegates visiting the exhibition
The exhibition introduces nearly 90 objects of the Dong Son culture that were collected recently with diverse, unique, and highly aesthetic types, such as: farming tools, daily utensils, weapons, musical instruments, and jewelry, etc. They were made from different materials such as: bronze, iron, ceramic, glass, wood, and stone with high technical skill. They are evidence reflecting the daily life as well as the worldview of ancient Vietnamese residents from 2,000 years ago. The exhibition consists of three themes:
Theme 1: New collections of Dong Son culture
Theme 2: Molds for casting Dong Son bronze drums discovered in Luy Lau underground
Theme 3: Experimental bronze drum casting
Specially, the exhibition presents the new discovery of bronze drum mold fragments at Luy Lau (Bac Ninh province) through archaeological excavations which are evidences for the origin of Dong Son bronze drums as well as strong vitality of the Dong Son culture.
Bronze drum mold fragments found at Luy Lau archeological site and their corresponding positions on the illustration drawing
The bronze drum was cast experimentally based on the reconstruction of drum mold fragments excavated at Luy Lau, Bac Ninh.
Experience activity of printing patterns on bronze drum
Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Van Doan emphasized: “The history of formation and development of the VNMH has been associated with the discoveries and research of Dong Son culture for more than 100 years. Although the Dong Son archaeological site was officially discovered in 1924, since 1903, many objects, especially, the Ngoc Lu Bronze Drum, were brought to preserve at the Louis Finot Museum (now the Vietnam National Museum of History). Up to now, the collection of Dong Son culture at VNMH has been increasingly supplemented and displayed in domestic and foreign countries.
At the same time, the ceremony to receive the 15 objects of Dong Son culture donated by collector, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nam was also organized at VNMH.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoan - Deputy Director of VNMH receiving objects donated by collector, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Nguyen Thanh Nam
The exhibition will be opened to the public from November 11th , 2023 to April 2023.
EN: Thu Hien