From WIRE REPORTS
As
History and preservation appear the last priority for a society moving full-steam into the technological age as youngsters in even provincial towns ride around on imported motorbikes, iPods in their ears, iPhones in their hands and iPads in their backpacks.
But Nguyen Huu Hoang values not only the pace at which his country is “developing,” but also its rich history and culture, even if this is not at the forefront of
“Finding a precious antique is like groping for a needle on the sea bed,” he said, evoking the isolation of his trade.
But when he finds one, he wakes up, and the adrenaline rushes – his “legs become motionless.”
With 20 years of collecting under his belt, his home-based museum now houses more than 1,000 items he deems “precious” out of thousands and thousands of historical artifacts.
Hoang, 38, who lives in Phu Vang District’s Phu My Commune in
“This is my museum,” Hoang said. “It is the biggest property of my life. Since my childhood, I have loved things that bear the trace of time.”
The call of the past
Hoang said he decided to pursue his passion for collecting antiques 20 years ago when he was in 11th grade. The decision surprised his family, who thought it strange that while much of the country was still scouring for food, Hoang would spend his time looking for objects no one could really use.
With an old bike and a fistful of small bills, he began traveling the rural areas around
No one close to him supported the idea and books about antiques were very rare. To learn his trade, he had to visit museums and meet other antique collectors, a rare breed on the margins of society, particularly at that time.
Hoang eventually expanded his trips to the whole of the central region, visiting the most remote areas he could find to discover the most rare and forgotten of the area’s historical treasures.
Expertise
According to Hoang, no one, especially beginners, can avoid misjudging the era and value of an antique item.
“Sometimes a heap of money is spent on an item of no value. But sometimes a precious, rare antique falls into one’s hand unexpectedly,” he said.
Once Hoang arrived at a Van Kieu ethnic minority village near the Viet Nam-Laos border in
It lay uncared for in a family garden.
Villagers hadn’t sold it or given it away because they believed it was the property of a local ghost.
But after Hoang spoke with community leaders, they soon offered it to him as a gift.
Court costumes
Hoang has a panoply of court costumes from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945),
A king’s gown in the collection remains in question for many and researchers still argue about who wore it.
According to Hoang, he found the fading gown with broken stitches in the Quang Tri town of
The gown is embroidered with 20 five-claw dragons and on the chest of the gown is the embroidered Chinese word for “longevity.”
Hoang said he knew for sure by its design that it was a Nguyen Dynasty gown. And because it is so short, he argues it must have been the property of King Ham Nghi, the 8th emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty, who ruled as a child.
At Festival Hue 2012, which took place in
Hoang said he had found court gowns in remote areas where locals had kept the royal clothes for their beauty but did not know they were previously used at the court. Others knew their value but kept them as souvenirs and didn’t want to sell them. It took Hoang several years to buy several of the items.
“Every time I found a gown, I was so delighted that I could not sleep and I just sat there motionless, admiring it for a long time,” Hoang said.
