History of women’s jewelry detailed in Hanoi
Thanh Nien Daily
A display of women’s ornaments and jewelry is on at the Women’s Museum in Hanoi, categorizing items that beautified Vietnamese women over generations.
The exhibition features unique pieces of jewelry worn by Vietnamese women from the Phung Nguyen and Dong Son periods thousands of years ago.
More contemporary forms of jewelry are on display, from feudalist reigns including Ly, Tran, Le and Nguyen between the 11th and 19th centuries.
Also on display are photographs and images of women of different ethnic minority peoples in Vietnam since early 20th century.
The highlights include a collection of stone bracelets in various sizes and shapes dating back 3,000 to 3,500 years ago, and a collection of 70 to 80 earrings made of semiprecious stones 2,000- 2,500 years ago.
Dong Son jewelry
The most noteworthy artifacts are a collection of bronze jewelry, from bandeaus and brooches to necklaces, bracelets, earrings, belts and mirrors, which belonged to the Dong Son civilization.
The headbands, embellished with feathers were precious jewelry that the ancient women used to wear on holidays and festivals.
The exhibits also includes bronze brooches whose heads have the shape of flying birds while an image of a dancer is in the center of the piece.
Among the highlights are original bronze buttons, each with a hook in the middle and a very large button, 13-14 centimeter long – possibly used for noble adornment.
The Dong Son civilization was discovered when a fisherman stumbled upon some bronze artifacts in the Dong Son Village of central Thanh Hoa province more than 80 years ago.
Hearing the news, French collector L. Pajot rushed to the site and began a large-scale excavation of the region.
In 1929, a researcher from L’Ecole d’Extreme Orient (School of the Far East), Victor Goloubew, linked the Dong Son artifacts with others found in the Hong (Red) River Delta and presented them as Bronze Age relics.
The exhibition at 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi is scheduled to wrap up on March 30.
