Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of Hue Monuments Conservation Center presents souvenirs to the Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang. Photo: Provided by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center
On August 24, Hue Monuments Conservation Center stated that the delegation included Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Center for Conservation of Hue Monuments and Mr. Nguyen Huy Thai, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
The delegation had a meeting at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Embassy in France. Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang received the delegation. Also, attending the meeting were Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO and the Embassy staff.
Ambassador Dinh Toan Thang said that, at present, in France, many historical artifacts and antiques, especially related to the Nguyen Dynasty, are kept in a number of museums such as the Military Museum, Cernuschi Museum, Guimet Museum, Quai Branly Museum, and the French School of the Far East…
The Ambassador affirmed his willingness to support the province in connecting with museums, researchers, collectors and conservation experts to find historical sources of Thua Thien Hue’s interest, as well as promote multilateral cooperation between Thua Thien Hue and French partners, following the direction of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son during his recent business trip to the province.
The Ambassador also emphasized the achievements and prospects of promoting cooperation between Thua Thien Hue and UNESCO, and expressed interest in the upcoming exchange program between UNESCO and Thua Thien Hue.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Hoang Viet Trung, Director of the Center for Conservation of Hue Monuments, thanked the Vietnamese representative agencies in France for their support in document retrieval, in conservation and promotion of the value of the ancient capital's heritage in recent years. This is the first time that Thua Thien Hue has sent a delegation to France with the aim of finding and connecting information about the heritage, Emperor Ham Nghi, and heritage preservation according to Resolution 54 of the Politburo.
At the same time, it is confirmed that Thua Thien Hue is working closely with French and international partners such as the French School of the Far East, UNESCO, and several French experts such as historical researcher Amandine Dabat, great-grandson of Emperor Ham Nghi in the search for artifacts and historical documents about Vietnam.
Thua Thien Hue will also promote cooperation activities with France in 2023 to organize a National Workshop to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Emperor Ham Nghi's death or coordinate with UNESCO to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Hue Monuments Complex being recognized as a world heritage site.
The delegation visited the spaces and museums during their trip in France. Photo: Provided by the Hue Monuments Conservation Center
After that, the delegation visited and worked with the Cernuschi Museum - Paris. Ms. Anne Fort - Director, Conservation Specialist - in charge of Vietnam and Central Asia collections received the delegation.
Ms. Anne Fort introduced to the delegation the catalogs and books of the Museum's collections about Vietnam as well as the sources of documents about the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam. In addition, she directly guided and explained about Asian collections at the Museum and introduced Vietnam's collections on archeology, ceramics, paintings...
In particular, the delegation saw the restored original sculpture "Woman holding a rose" in the collection of Emperor Ham Nghi. The museum has 5 pieces of artwork of Emperor Ham Nghi and has lent 4 to the Nice Asian Art Museum for exhibition. Currently, 1 artwork is preserved in its own archive.
The delegation has requested permission to use electronic data from the preserved Collections about Vietnam: about Emperor Ham Nghi, Hue Royal Court and artists of Vietnamese origin (such as artist Le Ba Dang). At the same time, the two sides exchanged orientations for cooperation between Hue Monuments Conservation Center and Cernuschi Museum in the coming time.
Within the framework of the program in France, the delegation plans to work at the French School of the Far East, Guimet Museum - the National Museum of Asian Art, as well as to meet and discuss with Ms. Amandine Dabat - historical researcher, 5th generation descendant of Emperor Ham Nghi.
The delegation will research and exchange future directions for cooperation on finding sources of documents related to the Nguyen Dynasty, the architectural works of Thai Mieu, Can Chanh Palace, Kien Trung Palace, and Temple of Literature, as well as cultural cooperation agreements in the field of publishing and digital materials.
By N. MINH