The People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province proposed that the Prime Minister agree to the policy of allowing mobilizing social resources to bring the King's seal back to the country. According to the People’s Committee’s proposal, mobilizing social resources for the Hue  Heritage Conservation Fund and using resources from this Fund to negotiate with Millon Auction House (France) in order to promptly buy the Emperor's seal.

The provincial People’s Committee also suggested mobilizing sponsors which are organizations and individuals who love the country’s heritage and contribute to the protection, preservation and promotion of the value of the national heritage to buy the precious seal to bring the country the seal.

Also in its official dispatch, the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province asked the Prime Minister to assign the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate and support the province and organizations and individuals in negotiating with Millon Auction House to buy the precious item.

Previously, on November 6, the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien - Hue province also sent an official letter No. 2556 to the People's Committee of Thua Thien - Hue province, proposing to use the Hue Heritage Conservation Fund to repatriate antiques.

The Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien - Hue Province also announced that in the current conditions, it is difficult to allocate the State budget to buy back the seal, while the Hue Heritage Conservation Fund has just been approved. The Government allows the establishment of a flexible operating mechanism, which is very effective in mobilizing socialized resources for the protection, preservation, and promotion of the value of Hue's ancient heritage.

Prior, a gold bowl with a height of 7cm and a weight of 456.6g used by King Khai Dinh (1885-1925) had been sold for EUR680,000 (US$676,000 ) at an auction by Million in Paris.

As planned, the golden bowl, part of the Vietnam art auction in Paris with 329 other artifacts also went under the hammer on October 31. However, the French auction house decided to postpone the auction at the last minute to November 10 following the Vietnamese State’s proposal.

According to antique researcher Tran Dinh Son, the golden bowl was a royal utensil used to display daffodils during the Tet (the Lunar New Year) Festival at An Dinh Palace.

Among the artifacts sold at the session, the Nguyen dynasty golden bowl reached the highest price with a set of Hue blue porcelain being priced at EUR100 (about US$99).

Source: SGGP