/ARTS WEEKLY/CULTURE-VIETNAM: Antiques Found, Then Go Missing

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Tran Dinh Thanh Lam

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Oct 21 2003 (IPS) - -As archaeologists excavate ancient artifacts and salvage antiques from old shipwrecks along Vietnam’s coast, cultural officials are busy trying to prevent the trafficking of these precious finds.

The illicit trade is doing real damage to Vietnam’s rich heritage and culture, even though the trade in antiques and artifacts considered cultural heritage is forbidden in the country.

In recent months, news of more archaeological finds and the robbery of more antiques have been appearing more frequently in local newspapers.

Earlier this month, on the day a seminar to announce news of archaeology findings was held in the capital Hanoi, police here announced that it had clamped down on a ring of antique traffickers. In September, when archaeologists were excavating a site in the heart of Hanoi reserved for the construction of the National Assembly House, they unearthed the foundations of a large temple, two wells and hundreds of thousands of enameled and terracotta construction items.

These items testify to the existence of Thang Long, the capital of ancient Vietnam that according to historic books was built more than 1,200 years ago, in the 7th century.

The problem then arose: Should the construction of the National Assembly House be delayed to give archaeologists enough time to dig out more conclusive proof? Should the house be built at another place instead, to make room for an outdoor museum housing the vestiges of the legendary capital?

The dilemma is an example of problems that cultural officials run into as they try to protect and conserve the nation’s cultural riches.

Likewise, only now are experts being allowed to start a salvage programme for shipwrecks along the coast of Vietnam, after local fishermen started to rob the wrecks of their ancient cargo of porcelain and ceramics.

Previously, experts could not touch the treasures because officials doubted the archaeologists’ skills and technology to carry out the dives.

Five old shipwrecks in Quang Nam, Ba Ria -Vung Tau, Kien Giang, Ca Mau, and Binh Thuan provinces have been salvaged, yielding thousands of ceramic and porcelain handicrafts dating between the 15th and 17th centuries.

The wreck near Cham Island in Quang Nam province alone has 240,000 items, mostly ceramics originating from My Xa and Chu Dau, two famous ceramic centres in Hai Duong province.

Sixty thousand artifacts from the wreck near Cau Island in Ba Ria-Vung Tau are mostly ceramics from Jingde, Shanto and Dehua in China, while 10,000 items recovered from the wreck near Dam Island in Kien Giang are ceramics from Thailand.

These finds explain the strategic position of Vietnam’s seas in international trade routes, experts say.

Experts are especially attracted by the wreck near Cham Island. They said that the shipwreck, with 24,000 items from My Xa and Chu Dau, is evidence of the participation of Vietnam’s ceramic artisans in international trade between the 15th and 16th centuries.

But these underwater treasures may be lost completely if archaeologists do not get to them in time.

”Vietnam’s sea definitely still has a lot of old ships. Fishermen know about some of them and are trying to recover the precious antiques,” says Pham Quoc Quan, director of the Vietnam History Museum. Robbers and smugglers are also targeting artifacts like statues of the Buddha and other worship items that are being venerated at unprotected pagodas and historic sites.

”Vietnam hasn’t set up criteria to classify various kinds of antiques, or to document them. It is thus difficult for local authorities and our department to carry out large-scale plans to protect antiques for worship,” said Ngo Van Tru, deputy director of the department of culture and information in northern Bac Giang province.

Bac Giang is the place where a rash of thefts of statues and other antiques in Buddhist pagodas happened in June and July.

But local authorities have only been able to assign some local seniors to clean and protect the pagodas. ”We have asked permission to set up a protection board for the relics, but so far we haven’t received approval,” Tru lamented.

On Jul. 24, six statues dated about 300 years old and ranging in weight from 80 kilogrammes to 200 kg were removed from the Duc La pagoda, less than 100 km north-east of Hanoi.

”Burglars left two statues at the pagoda gate because their lorry was too overloaded to carry any more,” said Thich Thanh Vinh, a monk at the pagoda.

In a similar case in July, seven large statues were looted from the 400-year-old Quang Thuong pagoda. Two other pagodas in Bac Giang were similarly burglarised earlier.

Thieves sneaked into the Hat Mon Temple in Ha Tay province on Aug. 28, and took away 22 royal ordinances, six precious swords and two antique bronze incense-burners dedicated to the worship of Hai Ba Trung, or the Trung heroines.

There are 2,500 temples and pagodas in Ha Tay province. Like many other pagodas and temples in Vietnam, they have but rudimentary means of protection and security.

”If we don’t find suitable measures to protect these places, in the very near future we would have only copies of statues and worship items at pagodas and temples,” said Kim Oanh of the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The robbery and illegal trade of antiques is already a major headache for police and cultural officials nationwide. Customs officials report that about 7,000 antiques are seized from attempts to smuggle them out of Vietnam’s borders every year.