According to researcher Trinh Bach, the robe believed to be the royal robe that is about to be auctioned in France may not belong to King Bao Dai, but to King Khai Dinh.
King Khai Dinh wears a royal robe during a grand ceremony. This robe is similar to the robe believed to have been worn by King Bao Dai when he ascended the throne and is about to be auctioned in France - Photo: Provided by researcher Trinh Bach
On November 25, speaking with Tuoi Tre Online, researcher Trinh Bach (who restored Nguyen Dynasty kings' robes) said he had seen a photo of the robe believed to be the royal robe worn by King Bao Dai at his coronation, which will be auctioned in France on December 7.
Mr. Bach commented, "This shirt has many issues that need to be considered."
The royal robe said to belong to King Bao Dai could be the robe of King Khai Dinh.
According to Mr. Bach, the shirt being auctioned this time is likely to belong to King Khai Dinh, not King Bao Dai as the auction house stated.
Mr. Bach showed a photo of King Khai Dinh wearing a shirt with a similar shape to the shirt being auctioned, the only difference being that in the photo the king is wearing a round-neck shirt, not a flat-neck shirt.
The color of the collar in the photo of King Khai Dinh wearing is snow white (pure white), not yellow like the shirt that is about to be auctioned.
"Another point is that the shirt that is about to be auctioned is a long cot shirt, which is the shirt worn by the king in important ceremonies such as coronation and worshiping heaven.
In the photo of King Khai Dinh, the king wore a long cot shirt inside, then put on a royal robe outside. This robe is currently kept at the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum," said Mr. Bach.
King Khai Dinh wears a black robe with a long tunic inside during a grand ceremony - Photo: Provided by researcher Trinh Bach
"It is possible that the shirt of King Bao Dai that is about to be auctioned is a fake"
According to researcher Trinh Bach, the shirt believed to be King Bao Dai's royal robe that is about to be auctioned "has many problems".
Mr. Bach observed the photos released by the auction house and said that the embroidery and stitching on the shirt were likely from Chinese embroidery techniques.
Especially according to Nguyen Dynasty custom, the lining of the king's robe must be yellow, not orange like this robe.
"Orange lining is used to sew clothes for royal relatives like the Queen Mother. It is also possible that this king's shirt was damaged and later people did not know, so they used orange lining to sew it back," said Mr. Bach.
Another strange point, according to Mr. Bach, is the collar of this king's shirt. Accordingly, the collar of the king's shirt used during grand ceremonies under the Nguyen Dynasty must be snow white, not yellow.
The shirt believed to have been worn by King Bao Dai at his coronation is about to be auctioned in France with an orange lining inside - Photo: https://www.delon-hoebanx.com
Mr. Bach commented that he does not rule out the possibility that the shirt believed to belong to King Bao Dai, which is about to be auctioned in France, is a fake.
Sharing the opinion of researcher Trinh Bach, an antique collector who once owned a king's robe in Hue also stated that one must directly hold and touch the king's robe in one's hand to be able to determine whether it is the king's real robe or not.
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