A collection of ancient Vietnamese lamps, with the theme "Light for all people", is on display at the Saint Joseph Seminary in Saigon. This collection began in 1863.

A collection of ancient Vietnamese lamps, with the theme "Light for all people", is on display at the Saint Joseph Seminary in Saigon. This collection began in 1863.

The lamps belong to Father Nguyen Huu Triet and 10 other collectors from all around the country. They are in various shapes and sizes and made from a variety of materials such as terracotta, copper, ceramic, wood, iron, and glass.

The majority of the lamps originated in Vietnam, with some dating back to ancient times. The oldest in the collection is a terracotta lamp from the 5th century BCE belonging to the Dong Son Culture (a Bronze age culture that lasted from 1000 BCE to the 1st century CE on the banks of the Red River in northern Vietnam). This was an early stage of lamp making when people started to learn how to use clay to make everyday tools.

A large ceramic lampstand, nearly 1m tall, made during the Le Dynasty period, is displayed in its own cabinet.

In the Dong Son Culture, the ancient Vietnamese used copper and iron to make objects like drums, jars, weapons, and jewelry and bronze to make lamps. Each lamp has a different shape and size, some only the size of a finger but still crafted intricately.

There are lamps made during the Le Dynasty era in the 16th-17th centuries. Hien, a visitor, said: "I'm from Dong Nai (a southern province). I came to Saigon to visit the Seminary and then just happened to find this exhibition. I only learned now that Vietnamese people have been making lamps for hundreds of years before the Common Era."

Most of the lamps at the exhibition were made between the late 19th century and the end of the 20th century in villages known for their ceramic traditions such as Bat Trang (Hanoi) and Lai Thieu (southern Binh Duong Province). There are also many lamps made by the Khmer culture from ceramic and copper and dating back to the 13th-15th centuries. 

An English visitor at the exhibition.

There are also lamps from other cultures that existed in the southern part of ancient Vietnam, such as Champa (from the 2nd century CE until 1832), the Sa Huynh Culture (between 1000 BCE and 200 CE) and the Oc Eo Culture (between 1st and 7th centuries CE)

The exhibition, at the Tradition House of the St Joseph Seminary, No.6 Ton Duc Thang Street, District 1, HCMC, will be open every weekend until January 6, 2019 from 8am - 11am and from 2pm - 4pm. Entry is free

Source: VnExpress