National treasures take centre stage in Hà Nội

HA NOI — A special exhibition featuring Viet Nam’s national treasures will take place at the Vietnam National Museum of History for five months from January to May 2017.

For the first time, all 16 national treasures kept at the museum will be put on display, helping visitors get a systematic understanding of the treasures’ historical and cultural values.

The exhibits will include a Ngoc Lu bronze drum of the Dong Son culture dating back to roughly 2,500 years ago. The piece is considered the most beautiful and intact drum of its type discovered so far, and it was recognised as a national treasure in 2012.

Another artifact is a Hoang Ha bronze drum--also from Dong Son culture--which was unearthed at Noi Hamlet, Hoang Ha Village, Phu Xuyen District, Ha Son Binh Province (presently Ha Noi).

The drum is relatively intact with unique decorated patterns and is grouped in the same category with Ngoc Lu bronze drums. Other national treasures include the Dao Thinh glazed terra-cotta jar, a statue depicting two men playing panpipes, a lamp in the form of a kneeling person, a boat tomb, the Vo Canh stele, the bell at Van Ban Pagoda and others.

A highlight of the exhibition are the historical works: including The Prison Diary by President Ho Chi Minh; Duong Kach Menh – a collection of lectures by the president during his revolutionary journey to Guangzhou, China in 1925-1927 – which were secretly published and transported back to Viet Nam by the Ministry of Propaganda of the League of Oppressed Peoples of Asia; the manuscripts of the Call for National Resistance, known as a national treasure of crucial value capturing a significant national event and depicting President Ho Chi Minh’s revolutionary life.

The museum is preserving nearly 200,000 original documents and objects of historical, cultural and scientific significance. — VNS