HANOI – Inspired by the “The Emperor’s Treasure” seal of King Minh Mang, the ceramic workshop in Bat Trang created many versions of the dragon seal for the 2024 Dragon Festival.
Ceramic production facility in Bat Trang (Gia Lam, Hanoi) creates gift product samples called “Sacred Dragon Imprint”.
Mr. Nguyen Van Luc, the unit that ordered the artisans to make the Giap Thin Tet product – said it was inspired and based on the prototype of the golden seal image “The Emperor’s treasure” – a treasure kept by the state and private entities. on the occasion of joining hands to repatriate from France, at the end of 2023. In addition, he also studied the dragon image of the Le Dynasty of Kinh Thien Palace – Thang Long Imperial Citadel to incorporate into products.
“The work requires meticulousness and care in every step. To meet the number of orders during Tet, the factory mobilizes four workers, sometimes having to work overtime from morning to night,” said Mr. Pham Viet Khoa, with more than 40 years in the profession, said.
According to Mr. Khoa, the dragon statue cannot be molded according to the model, so the craftsman must assemble each part onto the seal.
The process of shaping and attaching scales and whiskers to the dragon’s head takes a long time to perform and requires skill and meticulousness.
Mr. Khoa’s factory produces about 20 – 30 raw products every day, before being fired.
After shaping with clay, the product is glazed and fired, then covered with gold.
The craftsman uses liquid gold to draw each line on the product. The product then continues to be fired for 6 to 8 hours so that the sharp lines emerge.
Nguyen Van Trong – a resident of Bat Trang village, has specialized in drawing on ceramic products for 5 years – said it takes about three hours to paint a dragon, drawing at most 5 products a day. “Dragons are the most difficult mascots to draw. Especially the hidden details, deep behind the narrow slits on the statue,” the craftsman said.
After completing the gold stamping stage, it will be fired one last time for six to eight hours, cooled for 14 hours before the final product is produced.
The finished product achieves the even brightness of gold, no burn marks, and seamless strokes. The three sides of the seal are engraved with the words An – Thuan – Phat, symbolizing peace, convenience and development, the other side is an image of a carp turning into a dragon.
Ceramic dragon seals cost from six to nine million VND, depending on version and color.
($1~24,000 VND)
( According to vnexpress )