The newly-completed sculpture of General Ly Thuong Kiet (1019-1105). — Photo chinhphu.vn

HA NOI (VNS) — Four sculptures of Vietnamese historical figures have been presented to the public as part of efforts to publicise them.

The statues are of General Ly Thuong Kiet (1019-1105) of the Ly dynasty, General Tran Quoc Tuan of the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400), King Quang Trung also known as Nguyen Hue (1752-1792) who was a great hero of the 18th century, and legendary General Vo Nguyen Giap (1911-2013).

"We can place the statues of Peter the Great or Napoleon [Bonaparte] in our houses, so why don't we have sculptures of Vietnamese personalities?" historian Duong Trung Quoc said at a press conference held to publicise the sculptures yesterday morning.

These sculptures are part of a collaborative project of the Viet Nam Association of Historical Sciences, the UNESCO office in Ha Noi, Heritage House and the Circle Group which specialises in the development of applied fine arts.

The project aims to honour heroes and well-known men in national history, while enabling the public to understand better and be proud of their forefathers' glorious deeds for national construction.

The statues of King Quang Trung and General Tran Quoc Tuan are prototypes of the statues situated in Dong Da Hill, Ha Noi. The other two sculptures are new creations of sculptor Tran Van Thuc.

"General speaking, these four works meet the standards of quality in art quite well. However, if they are to be used in reality, they need to be adjusted a bit or recreated to suit different display spaces," said associate professor Do Bao, the project advisor.

The sculptures are on display till February 24 at the Viet Nam Military History Museum, 28A, Ba Dinh, Ha Noi. — VNS