Vietnam lost more antique art pieces abroad
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A rare set of manuscripts, recently emerging in the US, of 19th century Nguyen Dynasty depicting Nam Giao, its largest national ritual, was sold before Vietnamese purchasers could get their hands on.
Pham Thanh Hai, deputy head of the Center for Preservation of Hue Relics, said he contacted the seller right after he heard about the set being offered for sale, only to find these pieces were already sold.
“I feel very disappointed and sad,” he said.
Named Grande Tenue de la Cour d’Annam in French (Raiment of the Court of Annam), this set of paintings depict in watercolors the courtiers and costumes of Nam Giao ritual, the most important religious ceremony of the 19th century Hue-based Nguyen Dynasty.
Painted (and sometimes captioned) by a man named Nguyen Van Nhan in December 1902, the set was assumed to be a gift presented at the 100-year celebration of the dynasty.
It was sold by Klinebooks, a Californian antiquarian book dealer to a private collector who refused to be identified, said Debra Lemonds, one of the staff.
“We contacted Klinebooks and asked them to reveal more information about the buyer, but we have got no answer yet,” Hai said.
Last October, the Center for Preservation of Hue Relics also failed to acquire Déclin du jour (Sunset), a painting by Nguyen Dynasty’s exiled emperor Ham Nghi (1872-1943) at a Paris auction.
Thanh said public museums and governmental agencies like his practically have their hands tied due to many rigid rules and policies.
“We can’t compete with private collectors as we have to follow so many procedures.”
“We have to write a proposal, submit it to the higher authority, wait for the paperwork to be cleared, the price assessment to be approved, and finally funding to be processed,” he shared.
Thus, most of the center’s historical art pieces and other antiques are purchased from within Vietnam.
A few of its rare antiques from abroad were donated by generous individuals.
“Besides, we have almost no experience of partaking in an auction held abroad,” he said.
As such, many more of Vietnam’s historical art pieces like these rare paintings, which are among a very few documents left featuring the original Nam Giao Festival may be lost to private foreign collections.
Since 2004, the ceremony has been revived in annual Hue Festival, but often received criticism from historians who say it is too superficial and has no authenticity.
