Preserving and promoting the value of antiques: What needs to be done (Part 1) - Antique lovers

(Baothanhhoa.vn) - Being a land of "spiritual and talented people", Thanh Hoa not only produced heroes and heroes who made the homeland and country famous, but in the process of building and defending the country, our ancestors left behind a huge treasure of cultural heritage, including many unique and valuable antiques. Stemming from the desire to preserve the cultural values ​​of our ancestors, many artisans are diligently collecting and donating antiques.

Mr. Ho Quang Son, Chairman of Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiquities Association (far right) discusses antiquities.

Antique collector

Carrying cultural imprints, unique aesthetic values ​​and being a precious heritage containing messages of the past, the antiquities currently preserved in Thanh Hoa land not only affirm the richness of cultural heritage but also converge the intellectual quintessence of our ancestors. According to the Chairman of the Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiquities Association Ho Quang Son, Thanh Hoa is a place that preserves many types of antiquities, from prehistoric, early historical times, to later historical periods, reflecting the continuous development of the land and people of Thanh Hoa. Although there are no specific statistics, in the province there are many antiquities being preserved and managed by many units, such as the Provincial Museum, Hoang Long Antiquities Museum, historical - cultural relics, families, clans, collectors... The artifacts are extremely rich in both types and materials, from folk, religious to royal antiquities, demonstrating the strong exchange of different civilizations.

For many years, Mr. Ho Quang Son has been famous for his passion for collecting antiques. Every day, he travels all over the world to "hunt" and search for antiques. Mr. Son introduced to us the Dong Son bronze drum that he has collected and carefully preserved: "Dong Son culture is the source, demonstrating the everlasting strength and bearing the unique mark of national culture. The art of Dong Son culture is extremely diverse, highly aesthetic, the most typical of which is Dong Son bronze drum. The drums are cast by skillful hands and intelligent minds, demonstrating a very high level of bronze casting techniques of the ancient Vietnamese. In particular, the rich patterns carved on the face and body of the drum are not only a testament to the talent of the ancient Vietnamese but also a priceless source of information about their lives, beliefs and arts."

Mr. Son also told us about his journey since he started collecting antiques. It was several decades ago, by chance he met and got to know some experienced antique collectors, he was guided and learned a lot from them. After that, the more he learned, the more he became fascinated with antiques. What fascinated him was that each antique not only showed the talent and ingenuity of the ancients, but from the design, pattern to origin also reflected the characteristics of each region, so he felt interested in learning about the origin, history and meaning of each antique.

Moreover, the passion for collecting antiques is not simply the accumulation of precious items, but also the journey of preserving, maintaining and transmitting profound cultural and spiritual values. Each antique is a thread connecting the past with the present, associated with vivid historical stories about past dynasties. Thereby helping the next generation like us, especially the young generation, to better understand and appreciate the history of the nation. From that thought, he came to the passion for collecting and preserving antiques.

Up to now, he still does not remember clearly how many antiques he has collected. He only knows that his house currently preserves many types of antiques such as ancient vases, Dong Son bronze drums, jewelry, musical instruments... with different designs, materials and ages, from Dong Son culture to Ly and Tran dynasties...

He believes that the most difficult thing about collecting antiques today is that the antique market is a mixture of real and fake. Besides real antiques, there are also many fake and imitation items, and distinguishing them from real ones is a highly specialized skill. If not careful, collectors can lose money and own worthless items. Moreover, verifying the origin, history and authenticity of antiques is a complicated and time-consuming process, requiring a deep understanding of the history, culture and techniques of each type of antique to be able to make an accurate assessment. In addition, buying and owning antiques often involves complicated legal procedures, requiring an understanding of the laws and related regulations...

Besides exchanging and collecting antiques, Mr. Son also donated many valuable artifacts to a number of museums in and outside the province.

Gathering of antique lovers

It was also from the days of quietly collecting antiques that Mr. Son connected many members who loved antiques, bonded together, regularly exchanged and supported each other in collecting and preserving antiques. Thanks to that, up to now, the Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiques Association has had 778 members, including antique lovers and artisans restoring lost antiques.

Following Mr. Son's introduction, we went to the house of Mr. Nguyen Kim Cuong (Hac Thanh ward), a member of the Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiquities Association. The house he is living in is also where Mr. Cuong uses as a gallery to display about 300 artifacts he has collected over the years. This gallery always attracts a large number of antique enthusiasts to come and exchange, learn and exchange antiques. His house is also a place visited by many tourists .

Mr. Cuong confided: Each person has his own hobby, but to stick with antiques, the collector must have passion. When collecting antiques, I accumulated a lot of knowledge about the culture and history of the nation. Remembering the early days of learning to collect antiques, like someone eager to join a new game, the mentality was to buy anything that was antique. That's why at first I had to pay a lot of tuition, but thanks to that, I gained more lessons and experience to understand more.

To collect antiques, I had to travel from North to South, even abroad to persuade people to sell them. If I failed the first time, I had to go back and forth many times, talk, make friends, and even beg them to agree. Thanks to researching and collecting artifacts of the past, my knowledge has been constantly supplemented, especially in areas related to history and culture both domestically and internationally.

According to Mr. Cuong, the number of antiques in his antique gallery is not many and not rich. Therefore, his biggest wish in the coming time is to continue to renovate and improve to open a more professional exhibition space, which can welcome many people with the same passion for learning and collecting, especially the younger generation.

Not only Mr. Cuong, but also many artisans and antique lovers in the Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiques Association are still traveling every day to collect and preserve antiques that are gradually fading away and being lost.

Talking about the contributions of the Thanh Hoa Cultural Heritage and Antiquities Association in preserving antiquities, Mr. Ho Quang Son said: For a long time, the association has become a "common home" of responsible people, dedicated to the work of preserving, restoring and promoting cultural heritage values, especially antiquities. The association has done a good job of propaganda, raising people's awareness of the value of cultural heritage and the need to preserve and maintain cultural heritage values, especially antiquities. In addition, the association has made an important contribution to the restoration of bronze drum casting using traditional manual methods. Up to now, the association has restored 3 traditional bronze drum casting centers; coordinated with artisans to train and pass on the profession to hundreds of people; restored and staged bronze drum dances; organized bronze drum casting competitions, casting cannons using manual methods...

Although they have made many contributions to preserving antiquities, according to Mr. Son, the members of the association cannot help but worry that the number of collected antiquities is decreasing, there are also many antiquities that have been lost due to improper preservation, and somewhere there are many antiquities that are still being damaged... This is also the concern of many units managing historical and cultural relics, as well as of the majority of the people - those who are deeply attached to the heritage left by their ancestors.

Article and photos: Nguyen Dat

Lesson 2: Warning about the damage to national antiquities and treasures

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/bao-ton-phat-huy-gia-tri-co-vat-viec-can-lam-bai-1-nhung-nguoi-yeu-co-vat-260822.htm