Nearly 20 km northeast away from the city center, Kiêu Kỵ (Gia Lâm district, Hà Nội) is the only craft village in Viet Nam to inlay silver and gold leaf. It is said that this craft originated almost 400 years ago. The village’s ancestor is Dr. Nguyen Quy Tri.
Cultural village-traditional craft village of Kieu Ky
In 1763, when Nguyen Quy Tri was serving in the Ministry of Defence, he was dispatched as King’s envoy to China. While in there, he happened to familiarize and learn the secrets of how to inlay thin silver and fold leaf on paralle sentences, horizontal lacquered board engraved with Chinese characters, worshipping objects. When returning to homeland, he came to settle down in Kieu Ky land and teach the craft’s secrets to local people, helping them have regular jobs with skillful workmanship whenever engaging in the gold and silver inlaying of the celebrities’s architectural edifices as well as temple, pagoda, shrine, sanctuary in the capital. Besides, they also laminated gold and silver on fine arts, picture, statue, altar and pottery of all kinds. With widespread fame, many places in the whole country came to hire workers from Kieu Ky. For a certain consecutive centuries, People of Kieu Ky had lived a wealthy life thanks to the dexterious hands and aesthetic eyes. Not only apart from the architectural, religious works and worshipping objects, but most recently the interior decorations of Ha Noi Opera House, Ho Chi Minh museum, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and a number of architectural works in Hue, Hoi An, Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam… and many big hotels have been made by the products of Kieu Ky.
In commemoration of his exploits, people of Kieu Ky village, Gia Lam district built a worship temple, carved his statue and idolized him as craft forefather to be venerated all year around. Asides the death anniversary of the craft forefather held on 17 August (lunar calendar), people of Kieu Ky also hold the ritual of worshipping the craft forefather on the 12 January (lunar canlendar).
Worship temple of craft forefather in Kieu Ky
Women and children are making crafts
Gold and silver thin leaves made by artisans in Kieu Ky
Craftsman Nguyen Van Hiep is making gold and silver thin leaf
Merit craftsman Le Van Vong is polishing gold thin leaf products
Mr. Nguyen Chung Anh said in the past in Kieu Ky village there was some hundred households involved in making this craft, but at present there remains merely more than 30 households with the 300-600 manpower. The reason is that the output of the village craft products is still meeting many difficulties. These products have been sold in various provinces and cities of Viet Nam, of which much have been consumed in son Dong-Hoai Duc, Dong Ky-Bac Ninh, Cat Dang-Nam Dinh… and some of them are used as gifts to foreign tourists. Another reason that the particular property of this product type is slowly consumed, and requires much investment so that the craftsmen in Kieu Ky mainly are doing outwork for the projects and dependent on clients’ requests. Presently, everyone in Kieu Ky wishes that their products will be able to reach the world and will not be confined to the sourvenir items. Kieu Ky village has oriented not only to upkeep, develop the traditional craft but also promote religious tourism as this is an ancient land rich in revolutionary tradition and historical, cultural relics which have been classfied by the government.
On 09 March 2021, Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien signed the Decision No. 826/QÐ-BVHTTDL recognizing Gold, silver inlaying craft of Kiêu Kỵ – National intangible heritage
By Thanh Quy