Why is the Nguyen Dynasty throne arm broken as easily as rotten wood?

The Nguyen Dynasty throne in the limited area of Thai Hoa Palace ( Hue Imperial City) has just had its arm broken off and has a dragon head carving. This is the original throne of the Nguyen Dynasty, which was made under King Gia Long (1802-1819), and was then used throughout the Nguyen Dynasty with a total of 13 kings, lasting 143 years.

Vì sao tay ngai vàng triều Nguyễn bẻ gãy dễ như củi mục? - Ảnh 1. — The Nguyen Dynasty throne before it was broken

The national treasure dossier of the Nguyen Dynasty throne shows that during the 143 years of the dynasty, the Nguyen Dynasty throne never changed its function or position, witnessing the ups and downs of the supreme position in the Nguyen Dynasty, whether it was hereditary or arranged by the mandarins. During the war against the French and the Americans, the Imperial Citadel area was heavily damaged by bombs, but the Thai Hoa Palace and especially the Nguyen Dynasty throne remained almost intact.

Regarding whether this is the original of the artifact, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) confirmed: "This is the original, also a national treasure of the Nguyen Dynasty throne".

Images provided by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center show the armrest broken into three parts, including the dragon head. The vandal also reportedly broke the left armrest of the Nguyen Dynasty throne.

Not only did it make many people angry, the fact that the left armrest of the throne was easily broken made the public wonder about the throne. Many people questioned whether this was a real throne or not. With the precious wood material, why was the Nguyen Dynasty throne so easily broken?

Vì sao tay ngai vàng triều Nguyễn bẻ gãy dễ như củi mục? - Ảnh 2. — The armrest is broken.

According to Mr. Ho Huu Hanh, Director of Hue Monuments Restoration Joint Stock Company, the throne as well as the wooden antiques of the Nguyen Dynasty were mostly gilded. The type of wood commonly used for the ancient royal antiques was go wood (popularly known as mahogany). Go wood is commonly distributed in the Southeast Asian forest area (in our country it is now rare), a precious wood of group 1, the wood is highly durable, hard, water-resistant, and termite-resistant.

The Nguyen Dynasty throne has been rotten and broken since 2015.

The Nguyen Dynasty throne was recognized as a national treasure in 2015. At that time, the explanatory document about the proposed national treasure included a section about the current condition of the throne. "The joints are loose. The decorative glazed panels below the throne base are damaged. The right armrest is broken and has been temporarily reinforced with steel wire; the left armrest is cracked and the gilded paint is peeling off. Some decorative details on the back of the throne are no longer intact. The gilded paint on the throne base is peeling off and the wood is rotten," the explanatory document stated.

Nguyen Dynasty Throne Breaking Case: Request to review related individuals and organizations

Thus, it can be seen that 10 years ago, the right armrest of the throne was broken off, and the left armrest was cracked. Notably, the throne base had rotted wood. Notably, this description did not reveal what kind of wood the throne was made of.

Also according to the explanation of the national treasure of the Nguyen Dynasty throne: the throne was restored once under the reign of King Khai Dinh (1916-1925). Because when he became king, he had the canopy above the throne redone, changing from silk brocade to gilded wood and elaborate carvings, so to be consistent, the king also restored the throne this time.

Vì sao tay ngai vàng triều Nguyễn bẻ gãy dễ như củi mục? - Ảnh 3. — The Nguyen Dynasty kings were all attached to this throne.

It is worth mentioning that in the explanation of the artifacts, the Hue Monuments Conservation Center also proposed solutions to deal with the broken and rotten state of the throne. That is: clean the entire throne; reinforce the wooden joints. In addition, inject preservatives into the wooden joints and wooden parts that are at risk of rotting; clean regularly and periodically check the artifacts.

Therefore, the weakness of the Nguyen Dynasty throne will also be something that the center needs to explain to the public and state management agencies. This weakness is inevitable, or because the center has not yet taken appropriate and active conservation measures. According to the document of the Department of Heritage, the report must be sent to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on May 26.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/vi-sao-tay-ngai-vang-trieu-nguyen-be-gay-de-nhu-cui-muc-185250526190119816.htm