Vietnamese art

Vietnamese art is visual art that, whether ancient or modern, originated in or is practiced in Vietnam or by Vietnamese artists.

Vietnamese art has a long and rich history, the earliest examples of which date back as far as the Stone Age around 8,000 BCE.

With the millennium of Chinese domination starting in the 2nd century BC, Vietnamese art undoubtedly absorbed many Chinese influences, which would continue even following independence from China in the 10th century AD. However, Vietnamese art has always retained many distinctively Vietnamese characteristics.

By the 19th century, the influence of French art took hold in Vietnam, having a large hand in the birth of modern Vietnamese art.

Pottery dating to the Stone Age (c. 8000 BCE) has been found in Bac Son, Vietnam. This pottery was made from clay, and in its beginnings was largely basic and lacking any artistic flare. Moving into the neolithic era, however, Vietnamese pottery and ceramics started to develop rapidly, showing signs of decor.

The highly developed Đông Sơn culture that flourished in North Vietnam (from about 1000 BC to the 4th century BC) was the civilization responsible for the world-famous Đông Sơn drums, a product of their advanced bronze-casting skills.

These drums give us an important peek into early Vietnamese life. They were elaborately decorated with geometric patterns, and most importantly, depicted scenes of everyday life such as farming, warriors donning feather headdresses, construction of ships, musicians, etc.

Archaeological evidence from this period also shows that people in the area had long been weaving cloth. Many of the people depicted on the drums are shown as wearing elaborate clothing.

During the ten centuries of rule by the Chinese, Vietnamese began to apply newly learned Chinese techniques to art and specifically ceramics, however this was in conjunction with the continued production of art based on native methods; this is proven by excavation of Chinese tombs in the area.

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