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About Vietnam >> Vietnam's Fine Arts & Crafts :>> Fine Arts & Crafts - Bronzecasting Metalwork is one of Vietnam’s most ancient crafts. The most remarkable evidence is Dong Son drums and it has become something of a Vietnamese cultural icon. The design inscribed upon the upper surface of the drum varies, but generally comprises an image of the sun with radiating beams surrounded by concentriccircles decorated with geometric patterns and stylised images of birds, animals and human figures playing musical instruments, beating drums or pounding rice. The drums are thought to have been used during important festivals and ceremonies, especially those designed to evoke rain. Bronze production reached a pinnacle of excellence between the 17th and 19th centuries in central Vietnam under Nguyen dynasty. Notable examples are the cauldron infront of the Can Chanh palace (1659-1684), the Nine Dynastic Urms (1835-1837) and the Nine Cannons (1803-1804) within Hue Cintadel and ritual gong (1677) and bell (1710) of the nearby Thien Mu pagoda in Hue. During the colonial period, bronze artefacts of all shapes and sizes were featured at numerous international expositions and exported widely overseas. After 1945 the bronzecasting industry was increasingly retarded by the combined effects of rising production costs and diminishing demand. However, since the mid 1980s the increased production of statues and other ritual artefacts and the opening up of new overseas markets has provided bronzecasting areas such as Ngu Xa, Phuoc Kieu and Phuoc Duc with a new, lucrative source of livelihood.
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