“Restoration is merely repeating the past. I want to create something new  -  infused with a contemporary spirit, yet preserving the soul of a thousand years,” said artisan Tran Nam Tuoc.

A gift called ‘Millennium Message’

Nearly a decade has passed since U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Vietnam in 2016, yet for historian Duong Trung Quoc, the memory of a handwritten letter from the White House remains vivid.

The letter, bearing the President’s own signature, expressed heartfelt thanks to Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a refined diplomatic gift: a 36 cm tall, 6 kg Ly Dynasty ceramic dragon head sculpture titled “Millennium Message.”

It was more than just a diplomatic present. It was a greeting from a thousand years of Vietnamese history sent to a Western head of state.

The creator behind it was not a celebrated graduate from an art academy, but a self-taught outsider  -  one who had found his own voice in clay: Tran Nam Tuoc.

When approached, Tuoc declined the suggestion to replicate an ancient artifact exactly. “I told Mr. Duong Trung Quoc that every craft village needs a birth certificate. Restoration is only repetition. I wanted to create something new  -  carrying the breath of the present, yet keeping the soul of the past,” he said.

Instead of copying an old model, he designed a dragon head glazed in celadon  -  a glaze popular in the Ly Dynasty, symbolizing peace. After three months and over 20 trials, the piece was chosen. From the hands of a “rookie,” as he calls himself, a timeless message reached the White House.

A destined meeting with clay

Born Tran Xuan Trieu in 1974 in the rice fields of Kien Xuong, Thai Binh, Tuoc’s childhood was steeped in village pagodas and ancient carvings of dragons and phoenixes. “As a boy, I was mesmerized by dragon and lion heads but never dared touch them,” he recalled.

His first creation came by chance when a broken terracotta kylin arrived in his village. Urged by his uncle to repair it for the temple, he sculpted a pair for fun  -  and they still stand today.

Without formal art training, Tuoc learned by roaming craft villages, observing and experimenting. At 15, he left school, working as a carpenter, driver, statue restorer, and wedding service hand before discovering his life’s craft.

From nothing to nothing

In 1996, he first came to Bat Trang as a driver for a wellness center. But the kilns’ smoke and the cultural atmosphere captivated him. He began in support roles but soon realized ceramics required a mastery of fire.

In 1999, he risked his meager savings to build his own kiln  -  and failed completely. With defective products, cracked clay, and ruined glazes, he returned home bankrupt, holding just 43,000 VND (about $2 at the time) and owing over 30 million VND (about $1,200 in 1999 value).

He persevered, returning to Bat Trang to learn from scratch, meticulously testing clays, glazes, and firing temperatures. By 2007, he built his second kiln, and by 2010, he finally called himself a potter.

‘I don’t sell ceramics, I sell stories’

Tuoc’s philosophy is rooted in “the breath of the earth, the voice of water, the story of the village, and the life of the worker.” To him, clay embodies the labor and legacy of ancestors, and each piece must carry a soul.

Rejecting mass-market wares, he devoted himself to Vietnamese mythical beasts. His research took him across the country  -  from Bac Ninh’s Phat Tich Pagoda to Hue’s imperial citadel, even to India to study Emperor Ashoka’s three-headed lion.

He distinguishes Vietnamese creatures from Chinese ones, noting unique traits such as Ly Dynasty dragons with upward-curving tusks.

Despite being named an “Outstanding Artisan,” he humbly calls himself a “new hand,” insisting on artistry over mechanical production. His works, priced from $120 to over $1,000 per square meter, are valued for their depth of meaning.

Returning  -  to clay, to his father, to himself

In 2018, as his father faced late-stage cancer, Tuoc chose to complete a book and exhibition in Hanoi rather than stay home for what was thought to be his father’s final Tet. Miraculously, his father recovered and remains healthy today.

Afterward, Tuoc stopped commercial production, focusing on building a private museum in his hometown to house thousands of works and sketches.

For him, Vietnamese ceramics must live in the hearts of the people and travel the world as a cultural legacy, not merely as craft products. “If a traditional work is integrated into life, it will endure,” he says.

Historian Duong Trung Quoc sees Tuoc as a self-made custodian of Vietnamese culture, while Giovanni Group chairman Nguyen Trong Phi calls him a cultural ambassador, blending preservation with innovation to bring Vietnam’s refined heritage to the global stage.

Tu Giang - Lan Anh