Completed negotiations for repatriation of the golden seal 'Emperor's Treasure'

On the evening of November 14, the latest information on the results of the negotiations to "repatriate" the "Hoang De Chi Bao" golden seal, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that, based on the results of determining the authenticity of the golden seal, the two sides agreed to transfer the "Hoang De Chi Bao" golden seal to the Vietnamese side in the spirit of consensus, understanding and friendly cooperation between Vietnam and the French Republic. At the same time, they agreed to carry out the relevant legal procedures to be able to repatriate the golden seal to Vietnam according to the laws of the two countries.

On October 19, 2022, the website of Millon Auction Company, Paris, France posted information that it will auction 329 antiques, including the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal of the Nguyen Dynasty cast in 1823 under the Minh Mang Dynasty (1820-1841) (lot number 101) belonging to the "Vietnamese Art" collection at 11:00 on October 31, 2022 (Paris time).

The golden seal "Emperor's treasure" returns to the country

Realizing the significance, importance and historical, political, cultural and artistic values ​​of the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal, with timely direction from the Government, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies and organizations, proactively, diligently and urgently sought solutions to "repatriate" the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal back to the country. Determining the solution through cultural diplomacy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has developed a plan to "repatriate" the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal, consulted with ministries and branches, submitted to the Prime Minister for permission to implement and organized an interdisciplinary working group to negotiate directly with Millon, France, and carry out steps in the roadmap for repatriating the gold seal.

Relevant agencies and organizations have proactively, made efforts, and urgently sought solutions to "repatriate" the "Emperor's Treasure" golden seal back to the country.

Accordingly, the Working Group conducted research, assessed the current status and authenticity of the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal currently kept at the Millon Auction House office (No. 19 rue de la Grange-Bateliere Paris, France). The results of the research and comparison of documents, it can be determined that the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal currently for sale at Millon Auction House is an original, accurate artifact, cast in the 4th year of Minh Mang (1823) as recorded in historical books (Dai Nam Thuc Luc, Kham Dinh Dai Nam Hoi Dien Su Le) and in the Minutes, images of the handover of the seal and sword of the French Colonial government to Head of State Bao Dai on March 8, 1952, currently kept at the National Archives Center I.

The "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal has many similarities with the two gold seals "Sac Menh Chi Bao" and "Hoang De Ton Than Chi Bao" currently kept at the Vietnam National Museum of History. All three gold seals are cast from 10-year-old gold, crafted according to the same model with a square seal face, a 2-level backrest, a curved dragon handle, the dragon's forehead engraved with the word "Vuong", and the dragon's feet have 5 clear claws. The size and weight of the three gold seals are also similar. This is a form of seal that has never appeared in previous dynasties or in countries in the region as well as in the world.

Dr. Pham Quoc Quan and Dr. Nguyen Van Doan, Director of the National Museum of History, researched and evaluated the current status and authenticity of the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal kept at the Millon Auction Company Office.

Based on the results of determining the authenticity of the gold seal, the two sides agreed to transfer the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal to the Vietnamese side in the spirit of consensus, understanding between the two sides and the friendly cooperative relationship between Vietnam and the French Republic. At the same time, they agreed to carry out the relevant legal procedures to be able to repatriate the gold seal to Vietnam in accordance with the laws of Vietnam and France.

Thus, the negotiation results between the two sides on the repatriation of the "Hoang De Chi Bao" golden seal were successful, ensuring the correct steps in the implementation roadmap of the plan for repatriating antiquities that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has developed and submitted to the Prime Minister.

The bottom of the Emperor's seal.

Immediately after, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to make efforts with relevant ministries, branches, organizations and individuals to coordinate with the Millon auction house to carry out the procedures for repatriating the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal to Vietnam as soon as possible, ensuring the legal regulations of the two countries.

The repatriation with the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal to Vietnam not only supplements and completes the collection of antiques, treasures, and cultural heritages that have been lost or "bleeding" abroad; affirms the correctness and decisiveness of our Party and State in the viewpoint of preserving, maintaining and promoting the value of cultural heritage, meeting the increasingly high demand for cultural enjoyment of the people, enhancing the national pride of the young generation in the international arena, contributing to the building and development of an advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity and contributing to the world's cultural heritage treasure. This is also a very meaningful work to ensure the integrity of cultural heritage - an important content that UNESCO pays great attention to in preserving cultural heritage, and at the same time demonstrates Vietnam's role in implementing international commitments in the international conventions that Vietnam participates in./.