Pottery collector displays local products

Bat Trang Village has long been known as a place to buy quality pottery, but rarely have these works been exhibited for the public. A small museum offers a rare glimpse into this cultural tradition. Huyen Trang and An Vu report. Arriving in Bat Trang pottery and porcelain village on the outskirts of Ha Noi, we encounter pottery collector Tran Ngoc Lam, who tells us about his private pottery museum called Van Van. Opened in 2002, the museum is in a small house near the village, the entrance to which is a lane leading to Bat Trang central market. The house exterior is unremarkable and partly covered by liana creeper, so it can be difficult to find. The interior is divided into four display sections. Three contain pottery from the 15th to 19th century while the other has 300 contemporary creations from Bat Trang Village. “The ancient pottery zone contains 600 items on display. It’s the first gallery ever in Viet Nam to showcase traditional pottery,” says Lam. Born in Ngoc Ha flower village, Lam was noted for his talent with flowers and says he would have preferred to be a gardener, even after graduating from Ha Noi Law University. But things changed when Lam visited Bat Trang in 1998. “I realised the village had a long history of potterymaking but had not kept a record of it. A craft village should not only make the products, it should also have a cultural value, especially when it comes to tourism… [Read full story]