Quang Nam's precious antiques in a French museum
(QNO) - There are two exhibition stalls of Vietnamese antiques in Guimet Museum (France). Some of these items are from Quang Nam province and considered as “precious antiques” of the museum.
Guimet Museum or the National Museum of Asian Art -Guimet is one of the largest museums of Asian art outside Asia. It is located in Paris, France.
An outstanding statue from Quang Nam in Guimet Museum is a sandstone head of Vairocana Buddha with thick lips, wide mustache, double chin, protruding cheeks, young and smiling face and closed eyes. This statue was excavated by Henri Parmentier and Charles Carpeaux in 1902 and taken to France by Philippe Stern. Besides, there are also a statue of Dvarapala found in Dong Duong tower in Thang Binh district and some others such as the sandstone statues of Apsara fairy and Makara monster, the statue of a dancing girl with ribbon dated from 10th century found in Tra Kieu, Duy Xuyen district, the statues of elephant and sandstone Ganasa-My Son.
In 2005, an exhibition under the theme “Art Treasures From Vietnam - Champa Sculptures” was organized in Guimet Museum. The exhibition displayed 95 Champa statues from Vietnam’s localities including Quang Nam, Rietberg Museum (Switzerland) and Guimet Museum.