A sandstone statue of the Hindu goddess Saraswati, the first of its kind found in Vietnam, is being showcased at the museum of the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

The statue, with the right hand and part of the pedestal broken, is 140cm high and dates back to about the 6th – 7th century.

It was discovered by a resident in Hoa Thanh commune of Tam Binh district while mining sand on the Co Chien River in November 2016. Later, this resident donated the statue to Phuoc An Pagoda in Xuan Hiep commune of Tra On district.

In March 2017, staff of the Vinh Long Museum came to Phuoc An Pagoda to learn about this statue, which was then handed over to the museum for preservation.

Deputy Director of the Vinh Long Department of Culture, Sports and Tourim Le Thanh Hien said on November 14 the antiquity is a particularly rare object that will help with research into local history, especially the appearance of Indian culture and religion in Vietnam.

It is also valuable to archeological, cultural, religious, aesthetic and craft technique research, Hien added.

Vinh Long authorities rewarded the statue finder and Phuoc An Pagoda for the discovery and presentation of the object to authorities.-VNA