National treasures of the Hung King era in the Ancestral Land

Converging historical, cultural, and scientific imprints of typical and special value of the country, the National Treasures (NTB) associated with the Hung King era have been preserved and are promoting their value to contribute to educating the heroic historical tradition of building and defending the country of the nation; meeting the needs of learning, researching, and visiting of the majority of people and tourists when returning to the Ancestral Land.

The national treasure, the statue of Mother Au Co, is preserved and worshiped at the Mother Au Co Temple, Hien Luong Commune, Ha Hoa District.

Phu Tho province is currently preserving 4 national treasures associated with the Hung King era including: Statue of Mother Au Co, Bronze Drum of Hung Temple, Bronze Belt Buckle and Nha Chuong Collection. These treasures are extremely rare heritages in Vietnam.

Considered the soul of a thousand-year-old historical culture, when mentioning the treasures associated with the Hung King era in Phu Tho, it is impossible not to mention the special treasure, the Nha Chuong Collection. Historically, Nha Chuong symbolized the power of the leader, made of jade, using crafting techniques such as: grinding, chiseling, drilling, sawing, creating small symmetrical grooves, creating very sophisticated radial holes; besides, there are techniques of smoothing, polishing, beveling in V-shape, fishtail shape, achieving a high level of aesthetics. The selection of jade material and the use of compatible stone crafting techniques have created the uniqueness of Nha Chuong. Up to now, the only Nha Chuong Collection has been discovered in Phu Tho - the first capital of the Van Lang State.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Xuan Ngan - Deputy Director of Hung Vuong Museum said: "The Nha Chuong Collection at the Museum is a unique original artifact, with special value associated with the history of the nation's founding. In particular, in recent years, the value of the National Museum has been increasingly affirmed when receiving the attention of domestic and international scientists, the public, antique lovers and tourists to the Land of Ancestors".

The national treasure, the Hung Kings Temple Bronze Drum, is on display at the Hung Kings Museum in the Hung Kings Temple Historical Relic Site.

The Hung Temple bronze drum was found in 1990 at Phan Ngui hill, Hy Cuong commune, Viet Tri city. With bronze casting techniques, top-notch decoration, sophisticated, quite rich and highly stylized patterns on the bronze drum have reflected the thinking and life of people in the Hung King era.

The drum has a face diameter of 93cm, a bottom diameter of 94cm, a height of 66cm, a weight of 90kg, made of brass, Heg I type, group C. This is the largest Dong Son drum among all known Dong Son drums in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The drum face is thickly cast, in the middle is a sun disc, around the sun disc are 3 connecting lines forming 3 concentric circles, creating 2 empty spaces separated by 9 decorative patterns.

The drum body is divided into 3 parts, including: The drum body adjacent to the drum face is bulging with a diameter of 1m, 18.5cm high, decorated with stylized patterns in a pattern ring consisting of 5 small rings in order from top to bottom. The drum back is 27cm high, 80cm in diameter, with 8 rectangular frames of stylized costumes alternating with vertical rings. The base is bulging more than the waist, 98cm in diameter, the part adjacent to the waist is 2cm, without decoration, then the concentric rings.

National Treasure bronze belt buckle set.

Excavated in 1976 at the Lang Ca Archaeological Site, Tho Son Ward, Viet Tri City, National Park, the bronze belt buckle is the first and only unique artifact found in Phu Tho to date. The belt buckle is 21cm long, 5.5cm wide, weighs 380gr, is made of brass, and consists of eight turtles hooked together.

According to research by historians and scientists, the people who wore this bronze belt buckle were leaders. Along with its historical value, the bronze belt buckle also demonstrates the sophisticated brass metallurgy and high aesthetic thinking of our ancestors during the Hung King period. In particular, the decorative art is very delicate and highly symbolic with the outer surface of each part of the belt being shaped like four turtles mixed with S-shaped spiral patterns. The turtle carved on the belt surface has also been uniquely stylized.

The Nha Chuong National Treasure Collection (real artifacts) is displayed, preserved and attracts the attention of many visitors and foreign researchers.

Carrying cultural imprints and unique artistic values ​​through each historical period, the National Museum not only affirms its cultural richness but also gathers intellectual quintessence. Recognized as a National Museum in 2020, the Statue of Mother Au Co is currently worshiped in the main sanctuary of the Au Co Temple in Hien Luong Commune, Ha Hoa District. The Statue of Mother Au Co is an original, unique artifact with full, sharp motifs containing many elements of royal art of the Nguyen Dynasty. The statue is carved from jackfruit wood, gilded with gold, with an overall height of 149cm, the thickest dimension 39cm, and the widest dimension 44cm. The statue sits on a unicorn pedestal, with both hands placed on the knees with the fingers in a seal position placed in the lap of the throne.

The statue of Mother Au Co has a gentle yet majestic and dignified demeanor, true to the qualities of a National Mother. Her face is holy with a high forehead, a small nose, drooping ears, a long neck with three folds, and a crown on her head. The statue has a slender body wearing two layers of clothes decorated with elaborate carvings. The coat falls down to the toes of her shoes, placed on a prostrate unicorn pedestal.

The four national parks associated with the Hung King era not only have aesthetic and artistic values, but are also witnesses to stories about history, culture as well as many aspects of society in many past eras. Thanks to the implementation of management and preservation work, the national parks have been promoting historical values, arousing pride in tradition, awareness of preservation, continuing national values, and at the same time, ensuring the right to enjoy culture of the people.

The functional sector has also organized many exhibition programs to introduce the province's typical cultural heritage, including the National Museum; promoted propaganda work, regularly promoted the image of artifacts and the National Museum on the media. In particular, information and values ​​of artifacts and the National Museum are included in the Heritage Experience Education program to help students understand the historical origin and value of the treasures, so that they have the awareness to preserve and contribute to the conservation and promotion of the value of the treasures.

Thu Giang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/bao-vat-quoc-gia-thoi-dai-hung-vuong-tren-dat-to-230556.htm