An ancient Vietnamese bell will be auctioned in Paris on June 7 and 8. — Photo ongbachau.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — An ancient Vietnamese bell will be auctioned in Paris on June 7 and 8.

Philippe Rouillac, founder of the Rouillac Auction Company, said the bell was made and used in Viet Nam between 1405 and 1585. Some historic materials provided by Vietnamese French collector Gerard Chapuis said the bell was a unique and valuable antique.

The bronze bell is decorated with two dragons and other patterns. It measures 108cm in height and 126cm in diameter. Many experts said the bell was kept at Long An Palace in Hue Royal Citadel.

They said the bell looked fairly similar to the one sold to Japan at the end of the 1970s. At that time, many Japanese people raised funds to buy the bell to return it to Viet Nam. The bell was handed back to Vietnamese authorities at a ceremony held at Quan Su pagoda in downtown Ha Noi in 1978. The bell was then brought to But Thap Pagoda in the northern province of Bac Ninh. — VNS