National treasures at Nghe An Museum

The Nhan Tower relic box, the snake-handled dagger with an elephant's leg in its mouth, and the elephant-casting ladle were all discovered through elaborate archaeological excavations and have been kept and preserved at Nghe An Museum for decades.

Nhan Tower relic box. Photo: Phuong Chi

In the last days of 2017, as soon as we received the news that Nghe An had 3 artifacts recognized by the Prime Minister as national treasures, we immediately went to Nghe An Provincial Museum. When asked to directly see these 3 unique treasures, Mr. Nguyen Duc Kiem - Director of the Museum seemed hesitant. "We have created every possible opportunity for the press, but antiques are generally quite "allergic" to the flash of cameras, not to mention that, among the 3 treasures, there is the Nhan Tower relic box which also has Buddhist spiritual meaning..." - Mr. Kiem said. So, it took a lot of persuasion to get his careful nod.

Ms. Hoang Thi Minh - Head of the Inventory and Preservation Department personally led us into the treasure storage. Before moving the first treasure - the Nhan Tower relic box, Ms. Minh solemnly lit a stick of incense and prayed in Vietnamese about the purpose of the visit. In the warehouse room, only about 20 square meters wide, with incense smoke swirling, Ms. Minh carefully took the relic box out of storage. The box contains a part of the Buddha's ashes after being cremated for posterity, found during the excavation of the Nhan Tower site in Hong Long commune, Nam Dan district, excavated by the Institute of Archaeology in conjunction with the Nghe Tinh Museum in 1985 - 1986. The artifact passport clearly states: the box is 7.3 cm long, 4.5 cm wide, 6 cm high, made of copper and gold. According to observation, the relic box is rectangular, divided into 2 parts: the lid and the body. The lid of the box has 4 slightly concave edges, resembling the edge of a roof, on top of the lid is a decorative band with a 6-petaled round chrysanthemum pattern. The body of the box has edges that are carved with high technique, surrounded by stylized lotus decorations. Records of archaeologists show that the box containing the relics was buried in a hollow tree trunk, buried vertically. Inside the tree trunk are ash and soil. Therefore, when the box containing the relics was found, opened inside the box there was about 1/3 ash, on the surface of this layer of ash there are two opaque white semi-circles, clear and thin like eggshells, which are the relics. Many research and analysis, according to the book "Phap Uyen Chau Lam" compiled by monk Dao The Tu Huyen Uan in the Tang Dynasty (China), relics are divided into types: bone relics are white, flesh relics are red, hair relics are black. According to this distinction, the two relics in the Nhan Pagoda Relic Box belong to the bone relics category.

Dagger with handle of snake holding elephant leg. Photo: Phuong Chi

The Director of Nghe An Museum revealed that this relic box is a unique artifact, not only having cultural, religious and spiritual values, but also a unique work of art. The discovery of the relic box in Nhan Tower contributes to the confirmation that relics have been present in Vietnam in general, Nghe An in particular, quite early, thereby revealing the early appearance of Buddhism in Nghe An. The relic box in Nhan Tower is a precious treasure, that is why, over the years, Nghe An Museum has had to work very hard to preserve it. "The recognition of the above artifacts as national treasures helps to strengthen the "circle" of protection on the basis of the law in preserving them," affirmed Mr. Nguyen Duc Kiem.

In addition to the Nhan Tower relic box, the other two treasures are also unique original artifacts. The dagger with a handle shaped like a snake holding an elephant's leg is 12.3 cm long and 3.5 cm wide, collected at the Lang Vac archaeological site (Thai Hoa town, Nghia Dan district) during the first excavation in 1973. This is the only dagger with a handle shaped like a snake holding an elephant's leg, excavated from the ground during the Dong Son culture period, 2,000 - 2,500 years ago. The dagger consists of two parts: the blade and the handle. The blade is thin, almost triangular, the tip is sharp, the two ends of the handle are shaped like butterfly whiskers; the handle is shaped like two round snakes intertwined, one with a crest and one without a crest, the two snakes open their mouths to support the front and back legs of an elephant. According to the assessment of some archaeological experts, the snake-handled dagger holding an elephant's leg is not only a weapon of ancient Vietnamese people, but also a unique work of art in the collection of bronze weapons, reflecting the skillful bronze casting technique and the art of creating statues on objects that reached its peak, affirming that Vietnam is one of the cradles of the world-famous Dong Son culture. In particular, this dagger is more likely to have religious and spiritual meaning, with a ritual function than a practical one, partly reflecting the totem and fertility beliefs of ancient Vietnamese people.

Similarly, the treasure of the Elephant-shaped ladle was found at the Lang Vac archaeological site during the second excavation in 1981. Up to now, no place in our country has discovered a ladle with an elephant statue as beautiful and unique as this Lang Vac ladle. With rich imagination, the Dong Son craftsman created an elephant statue that has the meaning of decorating the ladle, turning a normal household item into a beautiful and valuable work of art. The elephant statue on the ladle handle has all 4 legs, tail, trunk, and the elephant's body has patterns; the trunk, back, and tail are cast together into a soft curve. The bronze ladle with the elephant statue helps us better understand the level of bronze casting and statue making of the ancient Lang Vac residents, which had reached its peak; thereby showing the rich life of Nghe An people in the era of the Hung Kings.

Ladle for casting elephant statue. Photo: Phuong Chi

The recognition of three national treasures by Nghe An is a source of great pride and honor, but also places on its shoulders the responsibility of protecting, preserving and promoting them. The Director of Nghe An Museum said that up to now, this unit has not yet received instructions on sanctions for preserving and maintaining national treasures, but security measures have been tightened. The greatest wish of Nghe An Museum at present is to have the conditions to organize an exhibition displaying national treasures, along with many other rare antiques, to introduce to the public artifacts containing cultural values, promoting spiritual values ​​and pride in the heritage left by our ancestors.