The gallery in Hoi An holds Vietnamese records related to The Tale of Kieu, a collection of horse-themed stamps, and thousands of coins and banknotes for visitors. CSO Gallery is a three-story building, spanning nearly 2,000 square meters, located on Cua Dai Street in Hoi An city. Opened in early 2024, the gallery houses 20,000 items across 77 collections divided into six sections, including stamps, the Tale of Kieu, coins, and banknotes from Vietnam and nearly 200 countries worldwide .
Mr. Tran Huu Tai, 50 years old, from Ho Chi Minh City, takes advantage of his business trips both domestically and internationally to collect copies of The Tale of Kieu, stamps, coins, and banknotes.
In 2022, he set a Vietnamese record for the largest collection of diverse publications and artifacts related to the Tale of Kieu. In 2023, he set a record for the largest collection of horse-themed stamps from countries around the world, along with information about the stamps compiled and edited by the author in both English and Vietnamese.
For over 20 years, he traveled to many regions in Vietnam and abroad, collecting and acquiring items to bring back to his private residence. In early 2024, he came to Hoi An and, seeing the large number of tourists visiting, opened a gallery to display his collection for visitors.
The gallery has three floors, each nearly 200 square meters in size, arranged thematically. The garden area provides a space for visitors to relax.
The first floor displays 1,630 editions of The Tale of Kieu in Nom script, Quoc Ngu script, and many foreign languages published domestically and in several countries around the world. In addition, there are 480 other related publications, including articles in magazines, books, and newspapers published from the early 20th century, such as Nong Co Min Dam (1916), Nam Phong (1919), Trung Bac Tan Van (1924), and Nam Ky (1942). Mr. Tai's collection also includes 30 paintings of Kieu by several famous artists and hundreds of publications and items related to The Tale of Kieu, such as antique porcelain vases and plates illustrating The Tale of Kieu, musical scores about Kieu, and art calendars about The Tale of Kieu.
The second floor houses an exhibition space displaying 58 collections of rare coins and banknotes. The coin collection includes 47 sets such as animal coins, Islamic coins (AH year), porcelain coins from Germany and Japan, Queen of England coins, ancient Vietnamese coins, and coins from China, Japan, India, Korea, France, Italy, Switzerland, etc. The collection of ancient Vietnamese coins dates from the time of King Dinh Tien Hoang (980 AD) to the Nguyen Dynasty (1945).
Vietnamese and international banknotes throughout history. There are 11 collections of banknotes, including overprinted banknotes (1902-1989), Vietnamese banknotes (1903-1994), women's banknotes (1883-2018), emergency banknotes, military banknotes (17th century - 1973), smallest and largest banknotes (1896-1941), and banknotes with the highest denominations.
On the third floor, in addition to his coin collection, Mr. Tài also displays a watch that can tell the time in 200 countries around the world, which he invented.
The exhibition hall displays themed stamp collections arranged around the outdoor space, including the World Horse stamp collection (1891-2017), the World Colonial and Occupied stamp collection (1873-1973), and stamps featuring President
Ho Chi Minh (1956-2020)...
The horse-themed stamps he collected set a Vietnamese record.
Vietnamese fabric purchase ration coupons issued between 1965 and 1969.
A collection of perforated stamps from many countries around the world.
Visitors can tour the exhibition of The Tale of Kieu. Admission costs from 100,000 to 250,000 VND per person, and complimentary tea and coffee are provided at the gallery.
Mr. Nguyen Van Quynh, from Da Nang, said he was impressed by the vast collection of works on the Tale of Kieu. Besides the translated versions of the Tale of Kieu in 20 languages, there are also many research works and commentaries on the Tale of Kieu. "The exhibition is unique with thousands of stamps and coins from many countries around the world," he added.
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