The colors of pottery from the Kinh Bac region

If rice is the soul of agricultural civilization, then pottery is considered the first "language" that rice-farming communities used to express their spiritual lives. In the flow of contemporary life, the pottery of the Kinh Bac region, with names like Phu Lang, Luy Lau, and Hien Van, is flourishing as a harmonious blend of tradition and modernity, between the soul of the earth and the skillful creativity of Vietnamese hands and minds.

Simple and rustic Phu Lang pottery (Que Vo).

Rustic, eel-skin glazed pottery from Phù Lãng

Phu Lang pottery village (Que Vo district), situated along the tranquil Cau River, boasts over 700 years of pottery-making history. It is one of the ancient craft villages of the Kinh Bac region – Bac Ninh province. The Phu Lang pottery craft originated and developed around the Tran Dynasty, from the 14th century. Legend says that the founder of Phu Lang pottery was Luu Phong Tu.

Unlike Bat Trang pottery with its white glaze and blue floral patterns, Phu Lang pottery is a deep brown, rustic, and vibrant yet lively style, renowned for its unique eel-skin glaze products in various shades such as dark brown, light yellow, deep yellow, and yellowish brown.

The distinctive crafting method of Phù Lãng is the relief sculpting technique (double carving), creating ceramic products used in religious rituals, household items, and decorative objects with high sculptural value. According to the elders in the village, each Phù Lãng ceramic product must meet the requirements of having a characteristic golden-yellow or reddish-brown color, and when tapped, it must produce a resonant sound. A special feature is that the people of Phù Lãng still persistently fire their pottery using firewood to create the natural burn marks on the surface, a feature that no modern method can replace. Today, generations of artisans and young craftsmen in the village continue to work tirelessly, breathing life into the clay and preserving the traditional glaze with dedication and unwavering love for their craft.

Warm and inviting Luy Lau pottery

Not only was it a political and cultural center during the Northern domination period, the Dau-Luy Lau area (Thuan Thanh) is also the birthplace of Luy Lau pottery, an ancient pottery style that traded with India and China more than 2,000 years ago. Pottery artifacts discovered at the Luy Lau archaeological site and surrounding areas show that this place was once the cradle of pottery production in the Red River Delta.

The silting of the ancient Dau River, along with historical changes and the decline of the craft, caused Luy Lau pottery to be lost from the 17th century. It took more than 300 years, in that ancient land, thanks to the tireless efforts of artist and craftsman Nguyen Dang Vong and his colleagues, to revive a "pottery dream" that seemed to have turned to ashes.

With its distinctive olive green and deep red ash glaze technique, Luy Lau pottery not only possesses artistic beauty but also holds profound historical significance. Through their skill and unwavering dedication, honed through countless experiments in the kiln, artisans have combined ash from native mulberry trees with alluvial soil, mountain pebbles, and seashells to create the unique glaze of Luy Lau pottery. From vases and jars to Vietnamese cultural symbols such as the Ly Dynasty dragon head, ancient mythical creature, lotus flower, and dragon and phoenix motifs, all embody the spirit of the past and the creativity of the present. Luy Lau pottery has been showcased at APEC and WTO events and is featured in collections in France, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

The resurgence of Luy Lau pottery is not only the revival of an ancient craft, but also a vivid testament to the enduring vitality of Vietnamese culture. In the land that was once the ancient capital of Giao Chi, a place where Buddhism, Confucianism, and indigenous beliefs converged, Luy Lau pottery products echo the past, reminding future generations of a once glorious civilization and a desire to preserve the essence of the land.

Hien Van pottery preserves the beauty of memories.

Hien Van pottery is a symbol of a new, creative direction rooted in the national identity. Founded in 2004 by the late artist Bui Hoai Mai, this pottery line embodies the philosophy of "reviving Vietnamese pottery in a contemporary style." Hien Van pottery does not mass-produce or chase market trends, but rather follows a personalized artistic approach. Each piece is like a mass of emotion, possessing sculptural qualities, silently telling a story through form and glaze.

Hien Van pottery possesses a classic style, with a deep, rich glaze developed from the crafting techniques of the Ly-Tran-Le-Mac dynasties. The design of Hien Van pottery doesn't chase modernity but preserves the core of tradition with its traditional ash glaze, upgraded to new standards, offering higher heat resistance, richer colors, and each piece being an independent entity, like a condensed piece of time. And it is in this journey of continuing the story of tradition that the creative artist seeks to blend the old and the new. Therefore, Hien Van pottery is not just a functional item or decoration, but also a memento of Vietnamese pottery, past and present.

The pottery villages of Kinh Bac, whether ancient like Phu Lang, restored like Luy Lau, or contemporary like Hien Van, all share a common aspiration to tell the story of their homeland in the most profound language. It's a story of the harmonious blend of earth, water, fire, and the skillful creativity of hands and minds. From the profound Luy Lau, the rustic Phu Lang, to the pure Hien Van, each pottery style is a part of identity, an echo of the past sent to the present. More than just glaze color, shape, or shaping technique, each pottery product is a memory of the earth's soul, the creative language of hands, and the breath of Vietnamese culture...

V. Thanh

Source: https://baobacninh.vn/sac-gom-mien-kinh-bac-97666.html