Arts of Ancient Vietnam

From River Plain to Open Sea

Tingley Nancy, Reinecke Andreas, Manguin Pierre-Yves, Nguyen-Long Kerry, Dinh Chien Nguyen

Once a strategic trading post that channeled the flow of riches and ideas among countries situated along the South China Sea and places as far away as India and Rome, Vietnam has a fascinating history and an artistic heritage to match it. This lavishly produced catalogue will help introduce English-speaking audiences to Vietnam's amazing body of artwork, ranging from the first millennium B.C. to the 18th century. The authors begin by discussing, for example, the elegant burial jars, iron axes, bronze artefacts, and jewellery of the early Sa Huynh culture; the bronze ritual drums of the Dong Son; and, the jewelled gold pieces, excavated from the walled center of Oc Eo in the kingdom of Fu Nan.New scholarship investigates the trade in gold and Chinese ceramics between Cham and the Philippine kingdom of Butuan. The final section is devoted to art from Hoi An, once a major international port. Of note are the ceramic wares produced in northern and central Vietnam from the 16th to 18th centuries.

About the Author

Nancy Tingley is an independent scholar who previously served as Wattis Curator of Southeast Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

Andreas Reinecke is affiliated with the Kommission fur Allgemeine und Vergleichende Archaologie des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Bonn, Germany.

Pierre-Yves Manguin is Professor at the Ecole francaise d'Extreme-Orient, Paris.

Kerry Nguyen-Long is an independent scholar of Asian art.

Nguyen Dinh Chien is Chief Curator of the National Museum of Vietnamese History, Hanoi.

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