Published:  00:00 Wednesday - June 02, 2010

An exhibition of Vietnamese ceramics spanning 1,000 years and several dynasties has opened at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.

Ngan Nam Gom Viet (A Thousand Years of Vietnamese Ceramics) features 260 artefacts that trace the development of national traditional ceramics during the reigns of the Ly, Tran, Earlier Le, Mac, Le Trung Hung (Later Le), and Nguyen dynasties.

The Ly and Tran dynasties, who reigned from the 11^th to 15^th century, were famous for jade-glazed bowls and tea pots, and glaze ceramics produced in different shades including green, white and brown.

The traditional vocation has continued to grow and flourish in the craft villages of Bat Trang and Phu Lang in Hanoi and Bac Ninh province, respectively.

White-and-blue glazed ceramics having a high, brown base with underglazed cobalt floral decorations were produced from the 15^th to 18^th century during the Le dynasty as well as the Mac and Le Trung Hung dynasties.

The Nguyen dynasty in the 19^th and 20^th century, the last of the feudal rulers in Vietnam, saw the development of Vietnamese ceramics in southern region.

Lai Thieu in Binh Duong province, Bien Hoa in Dong Nai province and Cay Mai in HCM City's Cho Lon (Big Market) emerged as famous centres of ceramic production.

The exhibition is being organised by the HCM City Museum, Vietnam History Museum in HCM City, HCM City Fine Arts Museum, Southern Women's Museum, HCM City Antiques Association and private collectors to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of Hanoi.