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Dong Son Bronze Drums: Symbols of Vietnamese Bronze Age Culture

ASEAN Crafts AT The ACH
Dong Son Bronze Drums:
Symbols of Vietnamese Bronze Age Culture
 
Dong Son bronze drum donated by Nguyen Vu Tu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea, to the Permanent Exhibition Gallery of the ASEAN Culture House
Dong Son bronze drums are cultural assets featuring patterns of life in ancient Viet Nam in the period before written history. The drums, which were d between 600 BCE and the third century AD, are the product of Dong Son culture, a Bronze Age culture that flourished in northern Viet Nam’s Red River Delta.
Dong Son bronze drum donated by Nguyen Vu Tu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea, to the Permanent Exhibition Gallery of the ASEAN Culture House
They are among the finest metal works produced by the Dong Son. Various decorative patterns are engraved on the drums, including birds, people on ships and at festivals, and a sun embedded in the center. These engravings suggest quite a lot about life in prehistoric Viet Nam; specifically, the ships show the importance of trade and it is believed that the drums themselves were also traded.
Dong Son bronze drum donated by Nguyen Vu Tu, Vietnamese Ambassador to Korea, to the Permanent Exhibition Gallery of the ASEAN Culture House
As musical instruments, the drums are said to have been used as a signal to gather people together or announce the beginning of rituals. They have now become a symbol of the history and culture of Viet Nam.
※ Exhibits from the ‘ASEAN Crafts at the ACH’ section are available at the ASEAN Culture House’s Permanent Exhibition Gallery on the second floor.