Proposal for recognition of national treasure

VHO - In the report on the current status of the work of protecting, preserving and promoting the value of national treasures recently sent to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province has requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review and appraise the dossier of the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold artifact at the Nam Hong Royal Museum (Dinh Bang ward, Tu Son city), and submit it to the Prime Minister for recognition as a national treasure in the 13th phase, 2024.

Golden seal artifact "Emperor's treasure"

After being officially repatriated, the golden seal “Hoang De Chi Bao” is currently being displayed, preserved and promoted at the Nam Hong Royal Museum. The golden seal “Hoang De Chi Bao” of the Nguyen Dynasty is 10.4cm high, weighs 10.78kg, the seal face is 13.8cm x 13.7cm. The bottom face is embossed with 4 seal characters: Hoang De Chi Bao.

The People's Committee of Bac Ninh province stated that, in order to strengthen the protection, preservation and promotion of the value of national treasures in the province in the coming time, the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review and appraise the dossier of the Kim Bao "Hoang De Chi Bao" artifact at the Nam Hong Royal Museum (Dinh Bang ward, Tu Son city), and submit it to the Prime Minister for recognition as a national treasure in the 13th phase, 2024. Previously, implementing the guidance document of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province assigned the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to preside over and coordinate with the Nam Hong Royal Museum to build a dossier of the Kim Bao "Hoang De Chi Bao" artifact, proposing recognition as a national treasure.

Besides its historical, cultural and artistic values, the golden seal “Hoang De Chi Bao” is a cultural heritage of great significance to the nation, a symbol of political power in a certain historical period in the history of Vietnam. On August 30, 1945, when announcing his abdication, King Bao Dai chose the most beautiful and precious seal, the symbol of the Nguyen Dynasty monarchy, the golden seal “Hoang De Chi Bao” and the sword that his father, King Khai Dinh (1916-1925), gave him, to hand over to the revolutionary government. Mr. Tran Huy Lieu, representing the revolutionary government, received this symbolic seal and sword, then had it transferred to Hanoi right before President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the provisional government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, read the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945.

In 1952, these two antiques fell into the hands of the French and on March 8, 1952, the French held a ceremony to hand over the seal and sword to former Emperor Bao Dai as Head of State, and then brought them to France in 1953. Before his death (in 1997), Bao Dai left all his assets in France, including the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal, to his wife, Ms. Monique Baudot, a French woman. Ms. Monique Baudot passed away in 2021, the above assets belonged to the heirs and were put up for auction in November 2022. After more than a year of negotiations, discussions and implementation of related legal procedures, on the afternoon of November 16, 2023 (French time) at the Vietnamese Embassy in France, the ceremony to transfer the "Hoang De Chi Bao" gold seal to the Vietnamese side officially took place. The necessary procedures for the transfer of the Emperor's golden seal from France to Vietnam were then carried out.

After repatriation, Nam Hong Royal Museum Company Limited (Bac Ninh) is the unit responsible for preserving, displaying, and coordinating with relevant units to protect and promote the value of the gold seal at Nam Hong Royal Museum (Bac Ninh) according to the provisions of the Law on Cultural Heritage.

Currently, Bac Ninh province has 18 artifacts and groups of artifacts recognized as National Treasures, including: Amitabha Buddha Statue (Phat Tich Pagoda, Tien Du District); Thousand-eyed, Thousand-armed Buddha Statue (But Thap Pagoda, Thuan Thanh Town); Minh Tower Relic Stele (Bac Ninh Museum); Stone Dragon (Snake God), Le Van Thinh Temple, Gia Binh District; Dragon-carved stone pillar of Dam Pagoda (Nam Son Ward, Bac Ninh City); Diem Communal House Gate (Hoa Long Ward, Bac Ninh City); Bac Ninh Temple of Literature Doctorate Stele (Dai Phuc Ward, Bac Ninh City); Hai Thuong Y Tong Tam Linh wooden block (Bac Ninh Museum); Dong Son Culture bronze jar (Nam Hong Royal Museum)...

Regarding the protection of national treasures, Bac Ninh province has issued many policies in recent years; prioritizing investment in the restoration of relics that store national treasures. That is the legal basis for implementing the protection and promotion of the value of national treasures and groups of treasures in the area. Of the 18 national treasures currently in Bac Ninh, three are kept at the Provincial Museum and non-public museums, 12/18 artifacts and groups of treasures are kept inside the relics, and 3/18 artifacts and groups of artifacts are kept outdoors. The artifacts kept at the Bac Ninh Provincial Museum and the Nam Hong Royal Museum are absolutely safe. At relics with treasures, most local relic management boards have installed security cameras to monitor and protect them. Every day, at the relic sites, people are assigned to watch over and protect them.

In addition, during the process of restoration and embellishment of projects, there are plans to absolutely protect the safety of artifacts and treasures. Monuments with national treasures are regularly protected against termites to ensure the safety of the construction and protect the national treasures at the monuments. Treasures kept at museums are inspected and preserved periodically every year according to regulations. In parallel, the work of promoting the value of artifacts and national treasures is also carried out. Also according to the report of the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province, in recent years, Bac Ninh has directed specialized agencies to compile dossiers of artifacts with typical values ​​to report to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for appraisal and submission to the Prime Minister for recognition as national treasures. 18 artifacts and groups of artifacts recognized as national treasures are currently places that attract tens of thousands of domestic and foreign tourists to visit, research and learn. Historical and cultural relics containing national treasures are regularly given investment in restoration, repair, and prevention of deterioration, ensuring that national treasures are always placed in the best preservation regime.

To strengthen the work of protecting, preserving and promoting the value of national treasures in the area in the coming time, the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province requested the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to review and appraise the dossier of the Kim Bao "Hoang De Chi Bao" artifact at the Nam Hong Royal Museum, and submit it to the Prime Minister for recognition as a national treasure. At the same time, the Ministry is requested to support the development and implementation of the Project to protect, preserve and promote the value of national treasures in Bac Ninh province.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/de-nghi-cong-nhan-bao-vat-quoc-gia-108543.html