Nghien puts finishing touches on the bronze Dong Son drum. Some times he makes the bronzes to order.

A Western tourist visits Lien’s shop, which orders handicraft products from Nghien, on 80 Hang Gai Street. — VNS Photos Hoai Nam.

Silver engraver Nguyen Ngoc Nghien has been overjoyed since he received the title of Ha Noi Craftsman in December 2003.

"It’s a great honour for a craftsman like myself," says Nghien, who seems strong and nimble, despite being in his late 60s. "It recognises a craftsman’s qualifications."

Nghien was one of two silversmiths in the capital to receive the title from the Ha Noi People’s Committee in December. The committee also recognised the work of 14 other artists.

During his 50-year career, Nghien has won a certificate of merit, a silver medal and a "Golden Hands" award for his engraving.

"I won a certificate of merit at an exhibition in 1995 for a picture of Uncle Ho," Nghien says, pointing to a picture on the wall. It depicts President Ho Chi Minh sitting near a writing table, pen in hand, in the midst of a peaceful garden.

Nghien says he kept the picture, which he made to mark the 100th anniversary of Uncle Ho’s birth in 1990, as a unique memorial to Viet Nam’s revolutionary founding father.

The bronze tradition

Nghien hails from the village of Dai Bai in Gia Binh District, Bac Ninh Province. The village, known for its bronze casting, is about 40km from the capital.

Arts of Asia, a painting and calligraphy review, says the village’s bronze casting tradition stretches back a thousand years to Nguyen Cong Truyen (989-1069), the founder of the guild. He lived during the early Le Dynasty (981-1009) and the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225).

Legends hold Truyen was an official and an ambassador to China. They credit him with bringing the knowledge of bronze casting to the village from China. The trade prospered in the village during the reign of King Le Thanh Ton (1054-1072).

Nghien’s family has specialised in silver and jewellery for the past 500 years. Nghien, a member of the 14th generation, says he has been working since the age of 12. He began selling his wares three years later, a rare feat.

"It usually takes a craftsman 10 years to become skilled," Nghien says.

A silver oblong box with an inlaid gold tortoise earned Nghien the Ha Noi Craftsman title.

The side view of the silver oblong box, detailed with flowering branches and bird.

Ha Noi Craftsman Criterion for the qualification: - Of high professional skill and at least 10 years of experience. - Create unique products. - Works have received awards. - Contribute to the continuity and preservation of traditional crafts.

In the early 1950s, people favoured silver-plated porcelain. They also ordered silver supports for Chinese bowls, plates and tea or coffee pots. People now prefer silver flower pots, jewellery boxes, plates and other decorations.

"I was so happy I could make money myself. I didn’t care why they ordered this or that," he says.

Six years after the liberation of Ha Noi in 1954, the State set up a fine arts company on Hang Khay Street. It hired Nghien’s family and others from his village who had moved to the city.

In 1980, Nghien opened his own business because he recognised his 10-member family would be ideal to staff a private workshop.

Nghien usually receives orders from his niece Nguyen Hong Lien, who manages the commercial side of the business on Hang Gai Street. He says he has lost count of the number of orders he receives monthly. Nghien is busy year round, especially leading up to Tet (lunar new year).

"There is just enough time to fill the orders," says Nguyen Thi Ba, Nghien’s wife. "He doesn’t even have time to teach others his skills."

Nghien may not have the time to train his eight children, but they share a passion for their father’s work.

"It’s our village’s traditional craft, so we need to perpetuate it," says Minh, Nghien’s third son, one of two to follow in his father’s footsteps. "My other brothers and sisters work with bronze and aluminium."

Nghien says artists who dedicate their lives to a craft must realise it’s impossible to create recognised silverware over night.

"This is a complicated procedure," Nghien says. "A craftsman must be extremely patient to create an eye-catching piece. Whenever I come up with a new design, I have to calculate the exact size of the object, whether it’s a box, a flower vase, a bowl or a statue."

Nghien flattens a silver sheet and shapes it into the desired object. He says unskilled craftsmen usually fail if the silver sheet is the wrong size. Once the object takes shape, the craftsman carves and polishes it.

"It took me 40 days to finish the doc binh (a flower vase). I produced only one design like this," says Nghien, showing the picture of the vase he sold to a foreigner at the fine arts and handicraft fair where he won a "Golden Hands" award.

Nghien and his children are working hard to ensure their family tradition continues. They must cater to the demands of a traditional Vietnamese clientele and foreigner customers.

"The designs are traditional. I usually engrave the four sacred animals — the dragon, unicorn, tortoise and phoenix — and the seasons in the silver," Nghien says.

He often visits the Viet Nam Museum of History to hunt for new design ideas.

"The foreigners love that sort of thing, because the objects are handmade and engraved with symbols of power." — VNS

Reprinted with permission from Vietnam News Agency