VietNamNet Bridge - Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung recently signed a decision to grant the national treasure title for 30 historical artifacts, including the three items in Danang city: the My Son E1 and Tra Kieu altars and the Tara Bodhisattva statue.

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These objects belong to the Cham culture, being held at the Museum of Cham Sculpture, in the central city of Danang.
 
The My Son E1 altar was found in E1 tower of the My Son holy land, in Duy Xuyen district, in the central province of Quang Nam during the excavations by Henri Parmentier, head of the archeology faculty of the Far East Institue (France) in 1902 - 1903. The altar was dated back to the 7-8th centuries. It is made with yellowish sandstone.

The My Son E1 is assembled by a variety of images that reflect the life of Brahmanism monks:
playing music, talking, processing medicine, etc. The value of the altar comes from relieves, which represent the opening style of Champa sculpture.

The My Son E1 altar. Photo: Dan Tri

 
The Tra Kieu altar was discovered in the main tower of Tra Kieu capital (Duy Xuyen, Quang Nam) in 1918. The altar was dated back to the 7-10th centuries. It is made of blue-gray sandstone and is a masterpiece of Champa sculpture.

The Tra Kieu altar is a complete altar with the base, the body and objects of worship. The four sides of the altar depict scenes in the Ramayana Epic. However, the breasts arranged around the altar make impression about a particular style the Cham.

The custom, jewelry, hairstyles, hats of the characters on the altar, along with its decorative rim motif, make the altar the highlight of Champa sculpture in the 7-10th centuries – or the Tra Kieu style.

The Tra Kieu altar. Photo: Dan Tri

 
The statue of Tara Bodhisattva is made of pure copper, 1.15 m high. The statue was discovered very casually in 1978 by some farmers of Dong Duong village, in Binh Minh Commune, Thang Binh district, Quang Nam province. The statue was then brought to the Museum of Da Nang City.

Tara Bodhisattva is portrayed in a solemnly upright position. This is the main bodhisattva being worshipped in Dong Duong.

The statue is the largest bronze statue of Champa sculpture. It represents the pinnacle of Champa traditional art, combined with the influence of Indian and Chinese culture.

 

The statue of Tara Bodhisattva. Photo: Dan Tri

 

Translated by T. Van