The Nguyen Dynasty’s imperial seal (Photo: VNA) The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in astatement on November 14 that the sides agreed to carry out relevantlegal process and procedures for the repatriation of the seal to Vietnamin accordance with the laws of both nations, in the spirit of their mutual understanding and the Vietnam-France friendship and relationship.
The ministry said it will make effort to complete the workas soon as possible.
Earlier, on October 19, Millon announced its auction of 329antiquities, including two dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945) – agolden seal made in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang (1820 - 1841) and agolden bowl made under the reign of King Khai Dinh (1917 - 1925).
The inter-ministerial working delegation was formed shortlyafter in a bid to negotiate with Millon with regards to the seal’s authenticityand repatriation.
On the basis of collected evidence, verification throughMillon-published information and images, and comparison with some golden sealsof the Nguyen Dynasty being kept at some Vietnamese museums and relic sites,the seal supposed to be auctioned was confirmed to be the “Hoang de chi bao” (Treasureof the Emperor) cast in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang.
After negotiation efforts, the Vietnamese representative andMillon reached an agreement on deferring the auction of the seal on October 31,with the auction house issuing an official statement about the removal of theitem from the list of the antiquities to be auctioned on the day.
According to the ministry’s Department of Cultural Heritage,the determination to repatriate the seal aims to not only recover lostantiquities and cultural heritages but also affirm the country’s stature andinfluence, helping affirm the Party and State’s viewpoint onpreserving and bringing into play the cultural heritage values, develop anadvanced culture deeply imbued with the national identity of Vietnam, andcontribute to the world’s cultural heritage. This is highly meaningful tosafeguarding the integrity of cultural heritage – an important issue thatUNESCO pays great attention to in cultural heritage preservation, and alsodemonstrates Vietnam’s role in implementing the international conventions towhich it is a party./.
The ministry said it will make effort to complete the workas soon as possible.
Earlier, on October 19, Millon announced its auction of 329antiquities, including two dating back to the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 - 1945) – agolden seal made in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang (1820 - 1841) and agolden bowl made under the reign of King Khai Dinh (1917 - 1925).
The inter-ministerial working delegation was formed shortlyafter in a bid to negotiate with Millon with regards to the seal’s authenticityand repatriation.
On the basis of collected evidence, verification throughMillon-published information and images, and comparison with some golden sealsof the Nguyen Dynasty being kept at some Vietnamese museums and relic sites,the seal supposed to be auctioned was confirmed to be the “Hoang de chi bao” (Treasureof the Emperor) cast in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang.
After negotiation efforts, the Vietnamese representative andMillon reached an agreement on deferring the auction of the seal on October 31,with the auction house issuing an official statement about the removal of theitem from the list of the antiquities to be auctioned on the day.
According to the ministry’s Department of Cultural Heritage,the determination to repatriate the seal aims to not only recover lostantiquities and cultural heritages but also affirm the country’s stature andinfluence, helping affirm the Party and State’s viewpoint onpreserving and bringing into play the cultural heritage values, develop anadvanced culture deeply imbued with the national identity of Vietnam, andcontribute to the world’s cultural heritage. This is highly meaningful tosafeguarding the integrity of cultural heritage – an important issue thatUNESCO pays great attention to in cultural heritage preservation, and alsodemonstrates Vietnam’s role in implementing the international conventions towhich it is a party./.
VNA
