24k gold leaf inside Thai Hoa Palace in Hue

Hue – Visitors can see dozens of pillars of Thai Hoa Palace (Hue Imperial City) painted with red paint and dragons and gilded with 24k gold leaf.

After more than 200 years, Thai Hoa Palace has degraded and was comprehensively restored by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center at the end of November 2021 with a total cost of 128 billion VND from the state budget.

In particular, the entire frame system of the palace is made of ironwood. Of the 80 pillars of the palace, 66 are painted with red paint and painted with dragons and gilded with 24k gold leaf, a very important step in the restoration of Thai Hoa Palace.

According to Lao Dong's investigation, dozens of pillars inside Thai Hoa Palace had to go through many stages of processing, from priming, smoothing, lacquering, hand painting, gilding... and many other elaborate steps.

The Nguyen Dynasty palaces have wooden architecture painted with gold, creating a unique feature and affirming the position of the Dynasty. However, previous photographic sources have not shown much information about the gold-plating profession in important works such as Thai Hoa Palace.

Notably, gilding requires materials including paint from the resin of the Northern mountainous region, gold leaf, silver leaf, kerosene, tung oil, pigments, rosin, white cloth, finely ground wood powder, and countless other materials.

All wooden structures are carefully made by artisans through many difficult steps. To do the work of gilding and lacquering, especially the restoration of the interior of Thai Hoa Palace, the artisans must be highly skilled and carefully selected.

Artist draws dragon mascot.

Gold powder is finely sifted from 24k gold leaf.

A pillar of Thai Hoa Palace has completed the gilding process.

Although the project is expected to be completed in August 2025, the construction unit is striving to reach the finish line before 2025. Notably, on September 22, the Thai Hoa Palace had its surrounding fences removed, opening the path to the main palace for visitors to conveniently visit and see artisans performing the restoration work.

Thai Hoa Palace began construction in February 1805 and was completed in just 8 months. This was the place where the throne was placed and where 13 kings of the Nguyen Dynasty were crowned. Along with other palaces and mausoleums in Hue, Thai Hoa Palace is a structure located in the Complex of Hue Monuments, recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage in 1993.

The project is currently being renovated with a total area of ​​7,100 m2, of which the Thai Hoa Palace campus is 4,851.3 m2, Thai Hoa Palace is 1,440 m2, and Dai Trieu Nghi yard is 1,640 m2.

Laodong.vn

Source: https://laodong.vn/photo/thep-vang-la-24k-ben-trong-dien-thai-hoa-o-hue-1402497.ldo