Exhibition spotlights Hue’s enameled bronze art

An exhibition of 20 enameled bronze paintings is taking place at the An Dinh Palace in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue’s ancient city of Hue, becoming a magnet to tourists.

Held in response to the local signature Hue Festival this year, the exhibition treated visitors to paintings crafted by Do Huu Triet and his co-workers based on illustrations in the 1925 printed version of “Truyen Kieu” (or The Tale of Kieu) – a masterpiece by Vietnamese poet Nguyen Du. The illustration was made by painter Manh Hung.

Enameled bronze art, or phap lam in Vietnamese, is the name of an art product with copper core. Its outside is covered with many layers of enamel with decorative images and colors, and then fired at a high temperature. Such works have not only beautiful colours but also high durability.

The art flourished in the reigns of Kings Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, and Tu Duc, but in the reign of King Dong Khanh it gradually declined in the 19th century. In the early 2000s, the restoring and revitalising of this art genre began, with significant progresses seen in recent years.

The exhibition lasts until June 30./.

VNA