Visiting Bat Trang craft village in Hanoi, in addition to admiring the quintessential ceramic products, you will surely experience a very interesting pottery making craft.
Bat Trang has been dubbed the “King of Pottery” for hundreds of years with quintessential and unique handicraft products. Most of Bat Trang ceramic products are forged under the talented hands of a skilled, longtime worker. It is these workers who blew the Vietnamese soul into each inanimate, inanimate block of clay. As a result, Bat Trang ceramic products become lively and are highly appreciated by international friends for their aesthetics and product quality.
Where is Bat Trang pottery village?
Bat Trang pottery village Hanoi is located right next to the Red River in Bat Trang commune, Gia Lam, Hanoi. This place is most famous for its high-class ceramics, which has been passed down from generation to generation over hundreds of years.
Development history of Bat Trang craft village, Hanoi
Bat Trang pottery village was formed from the Ly dynasty. Bat Trang pottery has been around for a very long time. This is the integration between the five very famous ceramic families of Bo Tat village of Thanh with the Nguyen family of Minh Trang land. The five major families of Nguyen, Vuong, Tran, Pham, and Le gathered artisans and potters who migrated to Thang Long capital city to find land to settle down. And they stopped at 72 white mounds of Minh Trang village and established their main business here.
Development history of Bat Trang pottery village (Photo: gomsubattrang.org.vn)
Over the past 500 years, the Hanoi Bat Trang craft village has made people feel admiration for unique ceramic products. Most of the pottery in Bat Trang stands out with the glaze line, the most popular one must be the bronze glaze line. This is the glaze line with a slightly bluish or gray whiteness to help ceramic products always look beautiful and have high aesthetic.
The process of making ceramic products in Bat Trang craft village, Hanoi
Step 1: Choose soil for pottery
Bat Trang pottery is made from the main material is clay. The clay used for making ceramics will be fed into the system of the filter tank. The goal is to soak the clay in water for several months to allow the clay to decay. When the soil is fully ripe at this time, the worker will beat the clay in the tank. Next, it will be taken to the filter tank to allow the soil to settle and remove organic impurities. 
Bat Trang pottery is made from the main material is clay (Photo: gomsubattrang.org.vn) Fine clay, deposited in the filter tank will be transferred to drying tanks, incubation tanks. When the clay is smooth enough and has a beautiful white color, like rice flour, then the craftsman will use that clay to create Bat Trang ceramic products.
Step 2: Shaping, patterning and enameling
Pottery products of Bat Trang traditional craft village are handcrafted by hand on a turntable. At the stage of shaping, the craftsman uses the “hand claw, chatter” at the turntable to create sharp products.
Bat Trang pottery artist is posing for ceramic products on turntable with his talented hands (Photo: gody.vn)
At this time, the pottery will be dried completely and then the craftsman will switch to painting and enameling. With aesthetic eyes, talented hands, plus quick creativity. Bat Trang craftsmen begin to meticulously introduce patterns into ceramic products in a skillful and delicate manner such as flowers, shapes, birds … Each ceramic product was born as The children “are 9 months and 10 days pregnant”.
Bat Trang ceramic artist creates patterns and glazes for ceramic products (Photo: gomsubattrang.org.vn)
In terms of enamel coating, Bat Trang ceramics often use popular color glaze line. This type of glaze possesses a bluish or grayish whiteness, clear and deep. Pottery products of Hanoi Bat Trang craft village all have distinctive sharpness. That is the secret to brewing the heirloom yeast that nowhere can do.
Step 3: Baking ceramic products
After the ceramic is patterned and completely enameled, at this time the kiln firing technique will decide whether the quality of Bat Trang is beautiful or bad. Therefore, the potter pays great attention to the date and time of burning and coming out.
Bat Trang ceramics are used in many different kilns (Photo: gomsubattrang.org.vn)
Currently, Bat Trang ceramics are used in many different furnaces such as: staging furnaces, box kilns, frog furnaces … Depending on each different product, the worker will have to choose the appropriate type of furnace.
Bat Trang ceramic products – opportunities to develop and reach out to the world
Bat Trang pottery is a high-end and rare product line, mainly worshiping products: vase, lampstand, incense burner … But due to the tastes and needs of current users, Bat Trang pottery has been producing many diversified product lines from: dishes, cups … to meet the needs of today’s market.
High-class Hanoi ceramic products with many beautiful and attractive designs (Photo: gomsubattrang.org.vn)
Bat Trang Hanoi craft village is the cradle of many high-end and unique fine-art pottery lines not only domestically but also reaching the international market. Specifically, Bat Trang ceramic products have been exported to many countries such as Korea, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and Spain … Especially, Bat Trang pottery is also one of the face lines. There is always a very strong competition in both price and design.
If you want to learn about Hanoi culture, then surely Bat Trang Hanoi craft village will be the best destination for you. Because for Vietnamese people, Bat Trang pottery village is like a pride and beauty of traditional culture of the Vietnamese people.
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