The origin of passion
The spacious house of Mr. Huynh Dang Hien's family (Tran Hung Dao Ward, Kon Tum City, Kon Tum Province), spanning over 2,000 square meters, sits quietly beneath the trees. For a long time, the 46-year-old man has transformed his home into a repository for ancient artifacts dating back tens of thousands of years.
Huynh Dang Hien's antique collection
PHOTO: DUC NHAT
After several attempts to schedule a meeting, we finally had the opportunity to admire the collection of adzes, axes, and hoes from the Stone Age, along with coffins carved from strangely colored tree trunks.
In his luxurious living room, Mr. Hien has designed the exhibition areas to display artifacts in chronological order, giving visitors the feeling of traveling through time. Underneath the reception table are thousands of stone axes and adzes from prehistoric times. Next is an area displaying bronze axes from the early Metal Age, dating back several thousand years. A collection of earthenware pipes from the Champa people is also given a prominent display area.
All these artifacts are carefully preserved by the owner under transparent tempered glass. At the end of the row of tables are glass cabinets containing ceramic jars, pots, and pots in various styles. On the wall are wooden shelves displaying a jumble of canteens, shell casings, and war relics.
Mr. Hien shared that he was born and raised in Kon Tum. After graduating from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, he joined a foreign company specializing in fertilizers and agricultural supplies. This company offered quite good benefits, including annual trips for employees to experience foreign cultures.
During his travels , Mr. Hien was introduced to ancient artifacts and historical figures by the locals. Even everyday items that were used decades ago were preserved and presented to him.
"They highly value and are proud of the historical cultural figures and archaeological artifacts of the land they live in. They preserve everyday, familiar items like baskets, trays, and sieves. When tourists come to visit, they bring these items out to show them. Collecting these items not only develops tourism and services but also preserves traditional values. So why don't we give it a try?" Mr. Hien shared.
Upon returning to Vietnam, Mr. Hien always thought about collecting antiques, artifacts, and everyday items that were gradually being replaced or disappearing. However, it wasn't until 2008, after resigning from his job at a foreign company and opening a business selling agricultural supplies, that he finally had the time to pursue his passion.
Telling the story of Kon Tum through antiques.
For many years, Mr. Hien has traveled extensively through villages to collect antiques. It was there that he learned about the Lung Leng archaeological site (in Sa Binh commune, Sa Thay district, Kon Tum province), which preserves traces of prehistoric people from tens of thousands of years ago.
Mr. Huynh Dang Hien owns hundreds of stone mortars that the Kinh people used when they first arrived in Kon Tum in the 19th century.
PHOTO: DUC NHAT
"I heard that the local people have preserved quite a few stone tools. These artifacts were collected by locals near the Lung Leng archaeological site. I went there to investigate and inquire about buying them. Some items were easy to buy, but for others, I had to make many trips and use various persuasive methods before the locals agreed to sell them," Mr. Hien said.
Here, he collected tools made from stone, ceramics, bronze, and various tools for labor and production. To learn more about them, Mr. Hien read relevant documents and books. The deeper he delved, the more astonished he became.
Kon Tum has a rich and long-standing history and culture. However, for many years, this knowledge has been confined to museums or scientific documents and has not been widely disseminated to the outside world.
"In other places, the local people are aware of the long history of their homeland. But in Kon Tum, it's different; the veil of mystery surrounding a period spanning from ancient times to the Middle Ages remains unlifted. Therefore, tourists visiting Kon Tum only know about the gongs and traditional dances. Why not tell the story of Kon Tum through a different narrative, using the ancient artifacts that have been discovered?" Mr. Hien pondered.
To date, Mr. Hien has amassed over 3,000 artifacts, the most numerous being stone tools such as stone axes with shoulders, buffalo-tooth-shaped adzes, drilled stones, lamp bases, grinding stones, decorative pottery fragments, and brass tools. Among them are several rare and valuable archaeological artifacts that few collectors have been able to acquire. Most of these artifacts were collected by him from the Lung Leng archaeological site and surrounding areas.
Plans to open a museum.
Mr. Hien said that the artifact he cherishes most is the bronze arrow mold shaped like a swallow's wing. This artifact is considered unique in the Central Highlands and was previously displayed at the 2023 National Archaeology Conference in Hanoi. Many archaeological experts highly value this mold for its research potential.
Mr. Hien owns a bronze arrow mold shaped like a swallow's wing, an antique considered unique in the Central Highlands.
PHOTO: DUC NHAT
Besides collecting tools from the Stone Age, Mr. Hien also buys pottery, war relics, and everyday items used by the local people, such as coffins, wooden masks, tomb statues, and dugout canoes. In addition, there are many artifacts used by the Kinh people in their agricultural work when they arrived in Kon Tum from the mid-19th century, such as stone rice mills, wooden mortars, charcoal irons, plows, harrows, and saws…
Along with each artifact, Mr. Hien also reads documents to learn more about them. To date, after 15 years of research, he has gained considerable knowledge of antiques as well as the history of the region.
All the artifacts he has collected are concentrated within the Kon Tum region. Therefore, they relatively fully reflect the history of culture and life that once took place in this land. That's why he only preserves and displays these artifacts, not sells or exchanges them, for fear of contamination. He says he is planning to build a private museum where people can visit, learn, and discover more interesting things about the Kon Tum region.
Mr. Pham Binh Vuong, from the Department of Culture and Family Management, Kon Tum Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that Mr. Hien's collection is of special value, making an important contribution to the study of the cultural history of Kon Tum - Central Highlands region in general and archaeological sites in Kon Tum in particular. "In the future, we will continue to advise and connect with experts to help Mr. Hien in inventorying, classifying, scientifically preserving, as well as appraising and clarifying further information related to the artifacts," Mr. Vuong said.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ke-chuyen-kon-tum-bang-do-co-185250616225014097.htm
Comment (0)