Family in Nghe An is preserving rare ancient ivory seal

In a very low 5-room wooden house made of ironwood from 1948, Mr. Tran Minh Sinh said: Currently, the family still preserves 10 rare certificates from his father's generation. According to an expert specializing in Han Nom research, these 10 documents were issued by the deputy commander of Nghe An. Thanks to being kept very carefully, these 10 documents are still intact.

Mr. Tran Minh Sinh is showing one of the 10 family certificates that he is keeping.

Along with the 10 documents, Mr. Tran Minh Sinh also showed an ancient ivory seal. According to the terminology of antique collectors, this seal has "gone golden" in time. The seal is quite small, 2.5cm high, each side of the seal is 1.7cm wide. The top of the seal is engraved with the word "Shang". The bottom of the seal is engraved with 4 words "Sac menh chi bao" (meaning the precious seal granted by the emperor).

After hundreds of years, the documents are still intact. In the photo: A document with a seal 4 times larger than the other seals, in the middle of the seal is a series of words: "Dong Khanh first year second month third day".

Regarding the royal decree and seal, Mr. Tran Minh Sinh said that according to his father and grandfather, his great-grandfather Tran The Huong was a military mandarin in the Hue royal court.

Mr. Tran Minh Sinh is holding an ancient seal made of ivory. In the photo: The top of the seal is engraved with the word "Thuong".

Some porcelain antiques such as wine bottles and plates are being kept by Mr. Sinh.

The five-room house where Mr. Tran Minh Sinh lives is also used as the ancestral home of the fourth branch of the Tran Minh family in Luu Son commune - Do Luong. During the war, this was the place where revolutionary cadres were hidden and also the place where a number of counter-revolutionary traitors were imprisoned.