Mystery of antiques in a fishing village

Chau Thuan Bien village, Binh Chau commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai has long been called by many people as the "antique fishing village", because the fishermen here own many valuable antiques salvaged from ancient shipwrecks far out at sea.

Mr. Truong Trang points to the pattern on the ceramic plate. Photo: Tan Thanh.

There are antiques over 600 years old

We visited the family of Mr. Truong Trang, in Chau Thuan Bien village, who is famous in the fishing village for his collection of about 300 ceramic items of various types, produced from the 15th to 17th centuries. Among them, there are many antiques that have been appraised as having high value such as cups and plates made from Chu Dau ceramics dating back more than 500 years or jars, flower vases, and powder boxes dating back 300 to 500 years.

Mr. Trang said that the sea area of ​​Chau Thuan Bien village is also known as Vung Tau. In the past, there were many ships trading goods passing through this area. Natural disasters, fires and storms at sea have caused many ships to sink, taking hundreds and thousands of artifacts to the bottom of the sea.

In 2012, fishermen in the village discovered an ancient shipwreck with a lot of pottery and porcelain. Excavations showed that the ship burned before sinking, inside were coins dating from 1264 - 1295.

In 2014, another ancient shipwreck was discovered with many artifacts including bowls, plates, and plates dating from the early 17th century...

Mr. Trang holds in his hand a blue and white enamel bowl dating from the 17th century, with a carp transforming into a dragon motif inside, and says that this plate was exchanged for 4 cans of machine oil, worth 4 million VND. “I built this collection from that thrift. I want to buy and exchange every beautiful antique, because hidden within it are the values ​​of time, of history - extremely precious cultural heritages,” Mr. Trang shares.

Mr. Nguyen Van Vuong, also in Chau Thuan Bien village, said that this place is famous as an “antique village” because in every house’s cupboard there are vases, jars, cups, and ceramic bowls of many different ages. Every house, every person, has hundreds of households collecting antiques. Unique and valuable in that people bring them back mainly to display and rarely sell.

Holding the ceramic bowl in his hand, Mr. Vuong said: “I picked this up while diving for seafood, still retaining the original patterns and motifs. Many people while diving or casting nets often pick up pieces of ceramics, terracotta jars, and charred wooden planks from ships. Some people also pick up artifacts that wash ashore after each storm season. Of course, people accidentally discover and pick them up, but when it is determined that a shipwreck has artifacts, the government will organize protection and make a plan to salvage and preserve them.”

“Not only do I like to collect intact ceramics, I also like to collect broken pieces of ceramics to decorate my house. Each piece of ceramic has its own motif and pattern. Gradually, I learned more about the meaning of the patterns, the age of the ceramics and I appreciate more what I have,” Mr. Vuong confided.

Villagers do not buy or sell antiques.

Not only Mr. Trang and Mr. Vuong, but many people in Chau Thuan Bien village said that villagers do not buy and sell antiques but only support each other in exchanging according to their interests. Or exchange antiques for fishing gear, machine oil, etc.

Mr. Phung Ba Vuong - Chairman of Binh Chau Commune People's Committee said that in Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien village, there are nearly 300 households, of which more than 150 households collect and display antiques. Since 1999, thousands of antiques discovered from shipwrecks in Binh Chau sea area have been collected by many people for display.

"Most of the antiques collected by local fishermen were found while they were diving on the seabed in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa waters of Vietnam or the Cu Lao Cham waters of Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province," said Mr. Vuong.

Mr. Vo Hoai Nam - Chairman of the Quang Ngai Province Cultural Heritage Association said: "In Ganh Ca hamlet, there are up to 30 people participating in the Provincial Cultural Heritage Association. Most of them are very knowledgeable about antiques, especially ceramics."

According to Mr. Nam, to determine the age of an antique object, it is necessary to rely on the details of the patterns. For example, the crackle glaze, the age, the symbols, the motifs... Then, based on that and the knowledge you have read, you can know which year it belongs to, and which King it belongs to...

According to Dr. Doan Ngoc Khoi - Deputy Director of Quang Ngai Provincial Museum, in the Binh Chau sea area, experts have discovered many ancient shipwrecks, but only excavated 2 shipwrecks. This shipwreck is located about 200m from the shore, at a depth of about 5m. Archaeologists have collected many artifacts on the ship excavated in 2013 dating back to the 14th century. As for the ship excavated in 1999, the artifacts are mainly from the 17th century. The excavation of artifacts inside this shipwreck is valuable material for Vietnam's underwater archaeology.

Dr. Khoi added that archaeologists believe that the Binh Chau sea area used to be a bustling trading port. Ships came to Binh Chau to exchange goods and then burned or were sunk by storms. Therefore, this area has many ancient shipwrecks. Nowadays, Binh Chau people, while working at sea, pick up ancient objects and bring them home to display for tourists to visit.

When we left Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien village, we were forever impressed with this land, impressed with the fishermen who work day and night at sea and preserve the antiques. They have turned Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien hamlet into an extremely valuable "fishing village of antiques", a destination for tourists who want to visit and learn about precious antiques.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province said that households in Ganh Ca hamlet currently preserve and maintain many valuable antiques. Recently, the unit has coordinated with the Binh Son Heritage Association to build a community tourism destination for antiques in Binh Chau. We chose this as a destination for tourists to visit and research antiques. A very special address that not every place has.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/bi-an-co-vat-o-mot-lang-chai-10301707.html