Identifying the value of Vietnamese ceramics during the nation's founding period

VHO - A scientific seminar in Ho Chi Minh City discussed the value of Phung Nguyen, Hoa Loc, and Den Doi ceramics, emphasizing heritage preservation and promoting the value of Vietnamese ceramics during the nation's founding period.

The seminar was attended by many researchers, leading experts, management agencies and heritage practitioners.

On August 30 in Ho Chi Minh City, the Museum of Ceramics of the Nation's Establishment Period organized a scientific seminar with the theme "Identifying the value of Phung Nguyen, Hoa Loc, and Den Doi ceramics of the nation's establishment period".

This is one of the first in-depth activities of the museum since its establishment (June 26, 2025), marking an important step in the effort to research, preserve and promote the value of Vietnamese ceramic heritage from the early period of nation building.

The seminar gathered many leading researchers, experts, and heritage management agencies, including Mr. Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism); Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim - Vice Chairman of the National Cultural Heritage Council, along with representatives of research institutes, museums, universities, and antique appraisal units.

Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Chi Hoang – Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council

The discussion focused on ceramics from Phung Nguyen culture (Phu Tho), Hoa Loc (Thanh Hoa) and Den Doi ( Nghe An ). These are considered the starting points of the Bronze Age - the dawn of the history of nation building.

Researchers presented papers revolving around many aspects: raw material sources, manufacturing techniques, forms, colors, patterns, ages, as well as the relationship between cultures...

These discoveries not only help identify the historical and scientific value of ceramic artifacts but also expand understanding of the spread of ceramic art to later periods, especially the Dong Son culture with its famous bronze drums and bronze jars.

Challenges in conservation work

At the seminar, Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History and Associate Professor Dr. Bui Chi Hoang - Member of the National Cultural Heritage Council presented a research paper on the conservation and promotion of historical and cultural values ​​of ceramics during the nation's founding period.

According to Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, the Museum of Ceramics from the Founding Period plays a special role in preserving and disseminating the value of Vietnam's archaeological heritage. This is the only non-public museum currently preserving and displaying more than 1,000 ceramic artifacts from the founding period, mainly belonging to the Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, Go Mun and Dong Son cultures.

These artifacts are mostly made from low-temperature fired clay, the ceramic bones are rough, brittle, and easily affected by natural conditions after thousands of years in the soil, caves, or riverbeds. This makes preservation a challenge.

“Pottery during the nation's founding period not only reflects the daily life, beliefs and art of prehistoric residents, but is also evidence of the process of forming Vietnamese cultural identity.

However, conservation work is currently facing many difficulties such as the humid tropical climate, lack of preservation infrastructure, specialized equipment and specialized human resources. The risk of damage or loss of heritage is real if there is no synchronous solution," said Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan.

Experts share many research results

Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History suggests solutions in the work of preserving and promoting the value of ceramic heritage.

According to experts, it is necessary to implement a comprehensive strategy: investing in facilities, applying advanced conservation technology; training specialized human resources; perfecting the legal framework to control heritage protection activities; expanding international cooperation to access new knowledge and resources.

Along with conservation, promoting heritage values ​​must be emphasized through forms such as thematic exhibitions, digitizing artifacts, and developing educational - tourism - cultural industry products from ancient ceramics.

“Preserving and promoting ceramics from the nation's founding period is not only the task of the museum industry, but also a social responsibility in preserving the national cultural memory, creating a foundation for sustainable development,” emphasized Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan.

Representative of the management agency, Mr. Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage, assessed the seminar as having high professional quality, especially when linking academic research with artifacts being kept at the museum.

Mr. Pham Dinh Phong - Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) spoke at the seminar.

Mr. Pham Dinh Phong suggested that the museum should classify its collections in more detail. Currently, the museum's establishment dossier only divides the collection into three main groups: Pottery from the Dong Son culture period (including national treasures of Dong Son culture pottery); Pottery from contemporary cultures (Sa Huynh, early history of Dong Nai river basin); Pottery from several periods of Vietnamese culture.

However, this classification only meets the requirements for completing the initial museum establishment dossier.

According to the latest regulations in Clause 9, Article 3 of the Law on Cultural Heritage 2024, a collection must be understood as "a set of relics, antiquities, national treasures, and documentary heritage collected, preserved, and systematically arranged according to common signs of form, content, or material to meet the needs of learning about natural and social history".

The Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage suggested that the museum should classify its collections in more detail. According to him, the more accurate and in-depth the classification is, the clearer each collection will be, creating the basis for organizing thematic exhibitions, and even just one collection can tell a whole historical story.

Based on the reclassification, the museum needs to coordinate with scientists specializing in ceramics from the nation's founding period, and can also contact other museums to organize a joint exhibition, ensuring completeness in the shortest time.

Regarding the museum's operational orientation, Mr. Pham Dinh Phong proposed a number of solutions, such as the museum needs to prioritize preserving artifacts, building a digital database of artifacts, innovating display and interpretation methods, connecting experts, and enhancing international cooperation.

Dr. Phi Ngoc Tuyen - lecturer, Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Ho Chi Minh City National University)

Private museum space and the aspiration to preserve heritage

Mr. Pham Gia Chi Bao - Director of the Museum of Ceramics of the Founding Period said: "After many years of collecting, preserving, researching and appraising, we hope to form a non-public museum institution that truly has academic value and serves the public."

The Museum of Ceramics of the Early Period was established with the aim of researching, preserving and promoting Vietnamese ceramic heritage, especially ancient ceramic artifacts from the early days of the nation's founding.

Mr. Chi Bao expressed his wish that his Museum of Ceramics during the Nation's Founding Period would soon become a cultural heritage space, where the public - especially the youth - can clearly feel the value and pride of the nation.

Dr. Nguyen Anh Thu - Vietnam Archaeological Association presented research results

He said that over the past 15 years, the team has been persistent in researching, collecting, and compiling documents to reconstruct the story of pottery during the nation's founding, despite sometimes encountering many difficulties. The support of today's scientific community is the driving force for the museum to move in the right direction.

“We will take into account your comments and focus on preserving, displaying and developing the museum. The road ahead is long, but with the community’s cooperation, the ceramic heritage of the nation’s founding period will be preserved and widely disseminated,” said Mr. Bao.

Mr. Pham Gia Chi Bao - Director of the Museum of Ceramics of the Nation's Founding Time said he hopes that the Museum of Ceramics of the Nation's Founding Time will soon become a cultural heritage space.

Currently, the Museum is preserving more than 1,000 artifacts, ranging from Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, Go Mun to Dong Son cultures - typical cultures of the first era of nation building.

These collections vividly reflect the technical level, life, beliefs and aesthetics of ancient Vietnamese residents, and are also important historical sources for studying the process of forming national cultural identity.

In addition to displaying artifacts of pre-Dong Son cultures such as Phung Nguyen, Dong Dau, and Go Mun, the Museum also introduces many artifacts of contemporary cultures such as Sa Huynh and the early history of the Dong Nai river basin.

In particular, this place also preserves artifacts from the first 10 centuries AD, the independent period of the feudal regime in Vietnam, along with artifacts of Champa culture in the Central Highlands and Oc Eo culture in the South.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/nhan-dien-gia-tri-gom-viet-thoi-dung-nuoc-165135.html