An artisan in Kieu Ky village overlays a statue with super-thin gold leaves (Photo: VNA) Throughout the years, local people have retained their traditional professionwith a craftsmanship process that requires ingenuity and sophistication.
The craft was recognised as one of eight national cultural heritages by theMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism this week.
The craft is thought to have been founded by Nguyen Quy Tri from the northernprovince of Hai Duong in the Canh Hung reign (1740-1786). Tri then passed itdown to Kieu Ky villagers.
To show their gratitude to the founder of the craft, the villagers have built atemple dedicated to Tri and consider the 17th day of the eighth lunar month ashis death anniversary.
Kieu Ky gold laminating craft thrived before the August Revolution in 1945 whenthe craft of making precious gold was for most of the imperial religious worksto inlay statues of Buddha, thrones, diaphragms, couplets, processions andlacquer paintings.
It was on the brink of oblivion during Vietnam’s two resistance wars againstthe French and the US, but has been restored and developed since theunification of the country in 1975.
At present, nearly 50 families in Kieu Ky village still practice thetraditional craft, many of whom are large-scale production households./.
VNA
