Ministry urges verification of Nguyen Dynasty antiques to be auctioned in France

The golden seal (Photo: Million)

Hanoi, October 22 (VNA) – The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (MCST) has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to direct the Vietnamese Embassy in France to verify information related to two Nguyen Dynasty antiques which is about to be auctioned in France by auction house Million.

According to a release published on its website, the French auction house, founded in 1928, will put up for auction 329 antiques at 11am on October 31 (Paris time). Two among them were said to be from the last Vietnamese feudal dynasty Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945). They are a golden seal cast in 1823 during the reign of King Minh Mang (1820-1841) and a golden bowl dating back to the reign of King Khai Dinh (1917-1925).

The golden bowl (Photo: Million)

The ministry’s Department of Cultural Heritage said that if the seal was the ‘Hoang de chi bao (Emperor's Treasure)’, it had been used for public and political activities of the country throughout a historical period and carried significant historical and cultural values.

The golden seal (Photo: Million)

In its dispatch sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the MCST has urged the MoFA to direct the embassy to work with Million to quickly verify a series of information related to the items, including their owner, legality, expected selling price, and the ability to negotiate direct purchase without auction.

The body also asked for a suitable option to repatriate the antiques based on the results of discussion with the auction house and in accordance with the laws of the host country and international practices./.

VNA