Image via Gone Thrifting
I visited Vietnam a couple of years ago, and I had no idea what incredibly beautiful pieces of artistry I would encounter there. I made so many memories in this beautiful country, but there are a couple of them that I live with. One of them is a lacquered wine bottle holder, and the other is an embroidered shoe bag that I take with me when I travel.
Embroidery and lacquer, it turns out, are two of the crafts that the Vietnamese excel in. The skills needed to create beautiful objects out of thread or tree sap are not learned in art schools, seminars, or workshops, but are ingrained in village culture. Different villages specialize in different crafts, and these crafts are passed on in unending streams that have been gushing forth for many hundreds of years.
And the world has gladly embraced these fruits of Vietnamese creativity. Anybody can partake of this bounty, whether with a budget of a few dollars or a few hundred.
Embroidery
From afar they look like paintings, and it is only when one draws near that the texture of the thread becomes visible. The skill and intricacy of these museum-worthy works are heart-stopping and thrilling.
Vietnamese girl practicing her craft. Photo by Nathalie Mariano.
Gallery of embroidery. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Image from XQ Vietnam
Image from XQ Vietnam
Sometimes the embroidery is done on sheer silk, and the transparency of the material gives the piece a wondrous ethereal quality.
Image via XQ Vietnam
If framed art pieces are too much commitment, there are a lot of functional objects that are embellished with lovely hand embroidery — tablecloths, table runners bed covers, handbags, underwear travel pouches and shoe bags, just to name a few.
Shoe bag from Vietnam. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
A stall in Benh Tanh Market selling embroidered items. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Lacquerware
The Vietnamese artisans also express their skills in the “high-brow” and “low-brow”, with the ones that venture into the realm of fine art definitely take more time, skill, and artistry, and therefore cost quite a bit more.
A lacquered art work with an eggshell mosaic depicting a fishing scene. Image via Vietnamese Artwork.
Image via Tudo Art
Image via News Hopper at Sulekha.com
Lacquerware shop. Photo by Nathalie Mariano.
And Vietnam has beautiful lacquer products whose functionality do not diminish their status as beautiful art.
Image via Geoff James
The aforementioned wine bottle holder. Image by Nathalie Mariano.
Another bottle holder, this time with mother of pearl and eggshell inlays. Image via Nathalie Mariano.
For more about lacquerware, check out Midori’s post from the previous month.
