HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đuc Đam has signed a decision to recognise 23 more artefacts as national treasures.

Most of the newly recognised national treasures are now kept in museums across the country.

They include a Gia Phu bronze drum belonging to the Đong Sơn culture dating back to the second and third centuries B.C. and Giồng Lon golden masks of the first and third centuries B.C., which are at museums in Lao Cai and Ba Rịa-Vũng Tau provinces, respectively.

A statue of God Vishnu Bình Hòa from the 6th-7th century, a Gò Thanh collection of elephant-shaped gold leaves from the 6th-8th centuries, a Mỹ Sơn pedestal at the Mỹ Sơn World Cultural Heritage Site in Quảng Nam Province, and An Bien collection of white-glazed porcelain, among others, also earned the national treasure title.

Another recognised treasure is the collection of sketches of the Vietnamese National Emblem by painter Bui Trang Chưoc.

The collection, painted during 1953-1955, is now kept at the National Archives Center, the State Records Management and Archives Department of Viet Nam.

Notably, Quảng Ninh Province has the most recognised artefacts, with four treasures, including an An Sinh brown pattern ceramic bucket from the 13th century, brown ceramic jars of the Trần Dynasty in the 13th-14th century, ceramic vase painted with many colours from the 15th century and bronze jar of Đong Sơn culture in the 2nd - 3rd centuries B.C.

An object is recognised as a national treasure when it has significant value in terms of culture and history and will be protected and stored by the Government. 

The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Chairmen of People’s Committees of provinces holding national treasures, and heads of ministry-level agencies are required to manage national treasures in line with legal regulations on cultural heritages within their authority.

Since 2012, as many as 238 objects and groups of artifacts have been recognised as national treasures. — VNS