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Finding the traditional and modern features of Bat Trang pottery
Many unique craft villages in Viet Nam have created the richness and variety of the country's culture. One of them is
Bat Trang Pottery Village – a most exciting handicrafts village of Thang Long in the past and present – where has made many vivid and fine products with the colorful of native land. Bat Trang Pottery Village is located in Gia Lam District, about 10km from center of
Hanoi.
According to Sino-Vietnamese meaning, Bat means bowls, cups, pottery and Trang (or Truong) means the land where only reserves for professionals. At first, it was called Bach Tho Phuong, and then renamed as Bat Trang Phuong, long time later called Bat Trang,
Vietnam tours.
According to the legend, there was a senior artist with white hair and beard, moving from Bo Bat Village in Thanh Hoa (belongs to Ninh Binh Province present) to Bat Trang to practice and develop craft, and then he passed pottery and potter’s wheel to the villagers almost six centuries ago.
According to the history records, Bat Trang Village has also up to 600 years old. Some ancient bibliographies have recorded that in the early 15th century under the Le so Dynasty, the tributes that the court offered to the Ming Dynasty in China precious products including silks, satins, pearls, gems and Bat Trang pottery. It can say that the Bat Trang pottery was flourishing in the 16th and 17th century. On many valuable worshiping objects in temples, pagodas, shrines which are still kept today, one can see the name and age of whose offered and the production years, and will find that the Bat Trang pottery remains extremely are beautiful all in design, feature and glaze and it has been born since the reign of Mac Mau Hop and during the dynasty of Le Trung Hung.
In order to produce ceramic products, the workers must go through several steps: collecting clay, making up clay, shaping, creating patterns, covering with a glaze, and firing. The villagers always recall an old saying of the Bat Trang potters, "First is the bone, second is the skin, and third the furnace". The bone is kaolin clay that must be well worked, or else the product will crack. The skin means glazing, which often calls for the touch of a gentle worker who is clever with his/her hands. The furnace means that the fire must always be kept alive. This phrase of work is very important to the quality of the product.
The first important is source of clay. The sources of clay pottery in Bat Trang Village had been exhausted, so, the Bat Trang forced to find new sources of clay. They have to buy white clay from neighboring villages such as Co Dien in Vinh Phuc Province or Dau in Bac Ninh Province and red clay from Lao Ho, Ho Le in Hai Duong Province or Tho Ha in Bac Giang Province.
The traditional treatment clay is soaking clay in the tank system that consists of four tanks at the different high. The first tank is in the highest for soaking the raw clay (about 3-4 months). The clay would be actually dissolved in water forming liquid mixture, and then it is removed down to second tank, called "settled tank". The clay begin settle, some impurities emerge is removed. The settled and clean clay is moved to the third tank - "dry up tank". They usually dry the ceramic clay there about 3 days and then move to the fourth tank, called "incubatory tank". At that time, the clay is very white, fine and viscid as rice flour and it is ready to be made ceramics.
The main means of production of the ancient potteries were the potter’s wheel. The wheel was buried in the ground; the potters sat and pushed the wheel by foot, and then sophisticated products were shaped and polished by hands from lump by lump of clay. Although being manual, the products were as like as peas in a pod. Later, the artisans have used plaster molds to create the plain ceramic products. Currently, people still can find the hand-polished ceramic products in Bat Trang but very few remain.
After drying, the plain ceramic products will be decorated and covered with glazes. The Bat Trang artisans with the exquisite talent have skillfully decorated on the ceramic products with lively paintings of dragons and phoenixes, parallel sentences, floral designs, images of people and landscapes, which all reflect the Vietnamese people's daily activities and spiritual life. One thing that makes Bat Trang ceramics distinguished is the glaze, which is of high quality and a variety of colors, such as blue, brown, white, moss green, in both breaking and melting glazes. The enamel, lam (a hue of the blue color) is the most favored color of Bat Trang pottery and has become one of its characteristic features.
Last but not least, the raw products are fired. The furnace technique mainly influences to the quality of ceramic products. Potters attach special importance to both the time start burning and coming out of oven. This has a spiritual mean as belief. There are different types of kiln that are suitable to each type of products: from the traditional to modern ones.
Nowadays, many of the kilns use gas to reduce the amount of soot in the air and to produce high-quality products.
Bat Trang products are diversified based on the purpose of use. Many of these are now customized for aristocratic families and religious needs. Apart from the house-utensils including plates, bowls, teacups, kettles, wine bottles, flowerpots, vases, jar… Bat Trang produces many worshipping objects and decorative objects such as comprise lamp stands, candle holders, incense burner, altar boxes, swords, house models, altars, statues and architectural fixtures.
To make these works of art from Bat Trang ceramics ones cannot help speaking to the vital role of the ceramic artists. Artisans, who are fine at glaze, who specialize in creating designs and others are talented drawers... The creative labor achievements of the old artisan generation together with the youth of Bat Trang have created a diverse world with sparkling color from the soil of homeland.
As time went by, the village’s products have developed and become well known for the best quality, style and glaze, both inside and outside of the nation. Its popular foreign markets are Japan (under the brand "Kochi (Giao Chi) ware"), France, the Netherlands, Britain, Portugal, the United States, China, Southeast Asia, etc… Bat Trang Pottery has brought the cream of Vietnamese sprit to over the world.
On the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Ha Noi, the Exhibition of "Bat Trang - traditional and modern" had been held in Bat Trang Village aiming to introduce the history, formation and development of the village as well as introduce the traditional pottery of Bat Trang Village past and present. The exhibition was also the place to honor the cultural and art values, and Bat Trang artists, artisans through sophisticated and unique products that were combined from the heart, creativity and talent hands of the Bat Trang people through periods.
Pham Phuong/ Phuong Anh
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