The dragon has been a long time symbol of loyalty and power in Vietnamese culture and spiritual life. The sacred creature deeply influences people's activities, particularly royalty of the past.
On the occasion of the Year of Dragon, the Viet Nam National Museum of History yesterday organised a special exhibition entitled Dragon on Antiquities. The exhibit is a unique opportunity for visitors to appreciate the rich diversity of dragon images across a wide span of Vietnamese historical and cultural life.

"More than 100 typical objects representing many cities and provinces nationwide are on display in our exhibition," said Nguyen Quoc Cuong, museum director.

"For the thousand years since early civilisation, the dragon has existed in people's lives in different forms and material. Dragon on Antiquities is only a small part of our collection, but we hope that it will satisfy visitors' eyes," Cuong said.

At the showcase are many skilful carvings of dragon motifs, such as jade, jewellery, gold books, ewer and basin and silver incense burners.
"They are beautiful and extremely sophisticated, showing exquisite talent through many periods of development," said Tran Quang Trung, an architecture at the exhibit.

Trung, who has cooperated with the museum on different restoration projects for historical sites, was also interested in antiquities such as the axe, spear, stirrups and hammock hook.

"Not only kings and royal families but also normal people used the dragon-motif for carving objects. We can see the image spread from royal to normal life," he said.

People who are interested in the exhibition which is open all month can visit the museum at No 1 Trang Tien Street, Hoan Kiem District.

VNS