Glass painting was present in the Hue imperial court from the reigns of Emperors Minh Mang and Thieu Tri, with imported art products and not widely available to the general public. By the early 20th century, migrants from Guangdong who settled in the Cholon area began opening glass shops, trading in mirrored glass for reflections, picture frames, cabinets, window frames, and various types of glass paintings: large calligraphic inscriptions and calligraphic paintings used for housewarming parties, business openings, and birthday celebrations. In the 1920s, the craft of glass painting moved to Lai Thieu (formerly Thu Dau Mot, Binh Duong), and then in the 1940s and 1950s, it spread throughout the six provinces of Southern Vietnam, penetrating the Khmer community and creating the Southern Khmer glass painting tradition in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang…
The book "Southern Vietnamese Glass Paintings: Artworks for Every Home" by author Huynh Thanh Binh (Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House)
Photo: Q.MY
For over a century, Southern Vietnamese glass painting has produced a large volume of diverse products. Besides handcrafted glass paintings using purely multi-colored paints (with added silver and gold glitter) or combined with glaze techniques, particularly unique are the mother-of-pearl inlaid glass paintings; there are also line paintings with blue/red backgrounds, where the main subject is entirely rendered in gold glitter.
In modern times, many glass painting workshops have begun to transition from traditional hand-painting methods to advanced silk-screen techniques, and even 3D printing onto glass. Southern Vietnamese glass paintings are still sold briskly in markets, shops, and on buses and ferries traveling throughout the six provinces of Southern Vietnam, beautifully decorating houses in the South.
Author Huynh Thanh Binh specializes in researching world culture, Buddhist art, Vietnamese art, and folk culture, with many popular works including: Mythological symbols of deities and Buddhist spirits, Khmer murals of Southern Vietnam, Hindu and Indian Buddhist religious texts and symbols, Southern Vietnamese folk paintings, etc.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/kham-pha-tranh-kieng-nam-bo-185260302225203373.htm
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