(VOVworld) – On the sidelines of the recent annual meeting of the Asian National Museum Association (ANMA4), the Vietnam National Museum of History opened an exhibition in Hanoi themed: “Asia – Cultural Colors”,  showcasing ancient heritage items of Vietnam and other Asian nations.

The exhibited artifacts are from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They include household items, and decorative or devotional objects made of various materials: copper, pottery, silver, and terra-cotta. Nguyen Quoc Huu, Deputy Head of the Display Division of the Vietnam National Museum of History, told VOV: “The exhibits were thoroughly selected, particularly antique Buddhist and Hindu sculpture and art. There are also traditional handicraft items, which represent the art of a particular Asian country, including Chinese pottery, Japanese lacquer art, Thai inlays and Vietnamese bronze items and jewelry”.

On display are Vietnam’s Dong Son bronze drums, which symbolize the flourishing Dong Son culture in the northern and north-central regions about 2000-2500 years ago. The drumheads are decorated with the images of suns with sunbeams, domestic cattle, birds, paddies, and rice fields, which represent the Viet crop weather and wet rice civilization. Other decorative patterns illustrate handicrafts, blacksmithing, mulberry planting, silkworm breeding, cloth weaving, hunting, fishing, and sailing. 

The staue of Goddess of Mercy in the National Museum of History  (Photo: wikipedia.org)

The exhibition showcases the 17^th century statue of the Goddess of Mercy with her thousand eyes and hands, which is considered a sculptural masterpiece of Vietnam’s Buddhism.  The 3.7m tall and 2.1m wide statue resides at But Thap temple in Bac Ninh province. Her eyes and hands symbolize the Goddess’s sympathy for living creatures.

Visitor Nguyen Truong noted differences and similarities of Asian countries revealed by the exhibited items: “Visitors will distinguish what Vietnamese, Cambodian or Thai culture is, for example. It’s interesting that there are cultural exchanges between countries in the region. The Champa kingdom’s stone sculptures in these countries are similar”.

The exhibition, which opened on October 8 will last until January, 2014.