Starting from a personal passion, for more than 4 decades of silently collecting, preserving and systematizing Vietnamese antiques, Mr. Vu Tan - Director of Trang An Museum has created a collection that experts call "material memories" of Hanoi.
The upstreamer
In the 1980s, when the Vietnamese antique market began to become bustling, collectors were constantly chasing after Chinese porcelain or antiques from the Ly - Tran dynasties following the trend. In that wave, Bat Trang antique pottery - a pottery line that has accompanied Thang Long history for thousands of years - was surprisingly forgotten. The price was "as cheap as dirt", even some items were inferior to newly sold porcelain in the market.
It was at that "logical break point" of the market that Mr. Vu Tan - with the thinking of a scientist, saw his own path. "I buy because I find it beautiful, but the more I buy, the stranger I find it: Why are beautiful things made by our ancestors so cheap?", he recalled once.
Quietly and patiently, Mr. Vu Tan gathers each forgotten Vietnamese item, accepting to go against the flow of crowds. Three immutable principles were set out by him from the beginning: Vietnamese goods - beautiful goods - rare goods. Not following rumors, not buying according to trends, not speculating, he collects for a continuous stream of history.
In the ancient world, there are artifacts that have caused real and fake controversy for many years. Mr. Vu Tan does not argue. With the experience accumulated through decades of direct contact with real objects, he only needs to "hug the artifact up" to feel it. In many cases, after he buys, all controversies immediately end.
The saying passed down in the industry: "If Vu Tan has bought, consider it a final decision" is not a personal honor, but a recognition of a strict collection method, not chasing after crowds, not being dominated by the market.
Looking back today, experts are startled to realize: He has gone ahead of the market for decades. The artifacts Mr. Vu Tan owns are now unique, the pinnacle of Bat Trang pottery, a historical witness that even with a lot of money, it is not certain to be bought back.
Historical "launch" at the 1,000th Anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi Festival
In 2010, the Great Celebration of the 1,000th Anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi became a special milestone, bringing Mr. Vu Tan's collection to light. On an area of more than 1,000m2 at the Hanoi Museum, about 500 selected artifacts (out of a total of nearly 4,000 artifacts) were displayed for 14 consecutive years, recounting the ups and downs of the land of Kinh Ky.
The exhibition space is assessed by experts as a "standard" museum, from artifacts to scripts. The special thing is that the entire exhibition script was built by Mr. Vu Tan himself in a very short time - in the way he likened: "Making exhibitions is like making a movie, just needing a director to maintain logic and personality".
The collection is planned into 3 large spaces, reflecting 3 important historical layers of Thang Long - Hanoi.
The first space is a folk song of Vietnamese pottery from the Ly to Nguyen dynasties. Here, viewers can encounter representatives of most famous pottery lines across the country: Van Ninh, Tho Ha, Phu Lang, Chu Dau, pottery from the Central region, Central Highlands, Southern pottery kilns... Interspersed are architectural pottery from different periods and a system of wooden worship items. In particular, the set of palanquins and balustrades dating back to the time of Le Trung Hung, along with worship and examination, are considered wooden sculpture masterpieces, proving the aesthetic level and mastery of ancient artisans.
The focus of the entire exhibition lies in the second space: the collection of ancient Bat Trang pottery - considered the largest in Vietnam. For Mr. Vu Tan, this is not just a pottery line, but the soul of Thang Long. Born in the Ly Dynasty, experiencing many historical ups and downs, but Bat Trang craft village is still "hot" for thousands of years. Bat Trang pottery is placed by him at the peak of the Vietnamese pottery line, not inferior to imported porcelain at the same time.
Worship items such as incense burners, incense sticks, and incense bowls reach a masterpiece in terms of shaping. Especially the pairs of lampposts or glazed ceramic vases embellished, which are assessed by researchers as excellent works of art, affirming the mastery of life and the long-term vision of the collector.
The third space carries a different color: artifacts of the French in nearly 100 years of presence in Hanoi. This is considered a unique and almost unique exhibition area during the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, helping viewers look back at a layer of complex but inseparable urban memories of the Capital's history.
After 14 years of attachment, the collection "Antiques associated with 1,000 years of Thang Long - Hanoi" has parted ways with the Hanoi Museum, but its owner still worries about a wish: How to continue to promote the value of the collection to the public.
I am willing to sell all my assets, houses, and savings for a lifetime to build a true private museum - a cultural work to show gratitude to Hanoi's thousand-year civilization," Mr. Vu Tan - Director of Trang An Museum shared his wish.
He is not short of money, the assets are ready, and his enthusiasm is abundant. What he is short of, and also the most difficult thing, is the land fund, location and appropriate mechanism.
I don't ask for land. I want to rent land decently and transparently, to realize this dream," Mr. Vu Tan worried.
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