Official transfer of the Emperor's Golden Seal from France to Vietnam, after a year of repatriation negotiations

The Imperial Seal has been transferred to Vietnam to prepare for repatriation, after more than a year of negotiations, discussions and legal procedures related to stopping the public auction in Paris and agreeing on related requirements.

On the afternoon of November 16, at the Vietnamese Embassy in France, the handover ceremony of the “Hoang De Chi Bao” Golden Seal took place between Millon Auction Company, France and the Nam Hong Royal Museum, Vietnam.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to UNESCO Le Thi Hong Van, along with representatives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs , UNESCO, descendants of the Nguyen Dynasty and the family of Mr. Nguyen The Hong, the recipient of the national treasure, attended the event.

Chuyển giao Ấn vàng Hoàng đế chi bảo từ Pháp về Việt Nam

The golden seal “Hoang De Chi Bao” at the handover ceremony for repatriation to Vietnam. (Source: VNA)

This event is the result of more than a year of negotiations, discussions and implementation of related legal procedures regarding the suspension of the public auction of the “Emperor's Treasure” Gold Seal in Paris in November 2022 and the agreement on the requirements related to the transfer of the Gold Seal to the Vietnamese side.

Special mission of the Vietnamese Embassy in France

This success is due to the attention and close direction of the leaders of the functional agencies; the smooth coordination of relevant units, organizations and individuals participating in the negotiation process; the cooperation of local authorities, partners, friends and the Vietnamese community in France who helped and supported the interdisciplinary working group chaired by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Finance, Public Security and the special coordination of the Vietnamese Embassy in France.

In addition, we must also mention the goodwill of Nam Hong Royal Museum Limited Company, Tu Son, Bac Ninh, which is the representative to carry out financial procedures related to the Golden Seal according to the laws of the French Republic; at the same time, it carries out the preservation, display and coordination with the National History Museum to protect and promote the value of the Golden Seal at Nam Hong Royal Museum according to the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage.

Speaking at the handover ceremony of the “Hoang De Chi Bao” Golden Seal, the Vietnamese Ambassador to France emphasized: “Today’s results are the result of the contributions of many individuals and organizations. The Vietnamese Embassy in France is proud to have contributed a part of the effort to bring the Golden Seal back to Vietnam. For more than a year, since receiving information that the Golden Seal would be auctioned, the Embassy staff have considered this a top priority task and have coordinated with the authorities of both Vietnam and France to deploy many efforts and perseverance to connect, negotiate, mobilize, persuade, and gather information."

Appreciating the cooperation and coordination of the authorities in Vietnam and the host country, along with UNESCO and lawyers, Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang also did not forget to express his admiration and gratitude to Mr. Nguyen The Hong, Director of Nam Hong Museum, for his and his family's heart and wishes for the country and national heritage.

According to the Ambassador, these are not only unforgettable memories, but also a source of pride for all those who participated in this mission, because they contributed another flower to the flower basket of 2023 commemorating many important milestones in the relationship between Vietnam and France, namely 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of Vietnam - France Strategic Partnership.

On the side of the Department of Heritage, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Director Le Thi Thu Hien also said that the ceremony is a clear demonstration of the strength of solidarity and national pride, protecting the good cultural heritage values of the Vietnamese people.

"Through cultural diplomacy, we have been showing the world that we are capable of preserving and promoting the values of our precious cultural heritage, committed to maintaining respect and preserving the integrity of our national cultural heritage, contributing to the world's cultural heritage, and being an active and responsible member of the 1970 UNESCO Convention." According to Ms. Hien, the event is even more meaningful when it takes place in the context of the whole country celebrating Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23) according to the decree signed by President Ho Chi Minh on November 23, 1945 on heritage conservation throughout Vietnam, contributing to the completion of the Nguyen Dynasty royal palace collection, which is being protected, preserved and promoted at the National Museum of Vietnam in particular and the Vietnamese cultural heritage treasure in general.

Representatives of the Vietnamese Embassy, Mr. Nguyen The Hong's family and descendants of the Nguyen Dynasty witnessed the handover ceremony of the Emperor's Golden Seal. (Source: VNA)

On behalf of the relevant French agencies such as the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, which have also participated in many negotiations in the past to find a solution to achieve today's results, Mr. Nicolas Chibaeff, Director of the Archives of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed his honor and pride in witnessing the Nguyen Dynasty Golden Seal being able to return to its homeland.

He believes that in this success, there is also an important role and contribution of French agencies that have closely and effectively coordinated with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in France, acted as intermediaries in the negotiations, and created conditions to complete the procedures, so that today the wish for an important treasure, both material and spiritual, for the Vietnamese people can be fulfilled.

Simple, rustic and modest, Mr. Nguyen The Hong expressed his gratitude to the agencies, departments and branches that have supported him and the Nam Hong Royal Museum to officially own, preserve and maintain the "Hoang De Chi Bao" Golden Seal, an extremely valuable heritage of the history and culture of the Vietnamese people. He said that this is an important event for the Vietnamese people in general and especially for the Nam Hong Royal Museum in particular.

“As a Vietnamese citizen, we are always proud of our nation’s cultural heritage and have the responsibility to preserve, protect and promote the value of the heritage. With the current attention of the Party and State, I hope that, in addition to the Emperor’s Golden Seal, many other precious heritages will continue to be repatriated to Vietnam, increasingly enriching the nation’s heritage treasure,” he shared at the ceremony.

One year journey of negotiating the repatriation of the Golden Seal

In September 2022, Millon Company (France) posted information about organizing an auction of 329 antiques at 11:00 a.m. on October 31, 2022 (Paris time), including two antiques of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945), including a golden seal of King Minh Mang (1820 - 1841) and a golden bowl of King Khai Dinh (1916 - 1925). According to information posted on the company's website, the golden seal (lot number 101/329) is the "Hoang De Chi Bao" golden seal.

As soon as this information was released, the Vietnamese Embassy in France contacted, verified and reported to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aware of the importance of repatriating the national treasure Golden Seal, with the attention and close direction of the Leaders and functional agencies, an interdisciplinary working group was established and made efforts to seek support resources, promptly have a basis for negotiation, stop the auction and request the transfer of the Golden Seal "Hoang De Chi Bao" to the Vietnamese side.

At that time, Mr. Nguyen The Hong, Director of Nam Hong Royal Museum Company Limited, proposed to participate with the purpose of purchasing to supplement his personal collection, which was planned to be displayed at his Nam Hong Royal Museum in Bac Ninh. The proposal was accepted.

The leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have allowed the Nam Hong Royal Museum to participate and support the implementation of commitments to receive and transfer the Golden Seal to the Vietnamese side.

On November 12, 2022, the Department of Cultural Heritage requested permission and signed an agreement on negotiating the purchase of the Emperor's Golden Seal from France to bring to Vietnam and transfer the Golden Seal to the State with Nam Hong Royal Museum Company Limited, in which it committed: "Party A and Mr. Nguyen The Hong personally commit and guarantee that the Emperor's Golden Seal will only be transferred to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam through the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on the basis of compliance with the provisions of Article 43 of the Law on Cultural Heritage, after a suitable period of time, when Party A no longer needs to own, display, and promote its value at the Nam Hong Royal Museum, Bac Ninh, Vietnam.

Transfer costs include: costs paid for hiring a lawyer to negotiate; costs of purchasing the Gold Seal from Millon Auction House, France (including related taxes and fees); costs of bringing the Gold Seal back to the country (customs costs, international shipping)”.

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