Discovering Bat Trang Pottery Village
I love pottery! ♥⚱
I started out as a ‘sherd nerd’ in archaeology, which included digging pieces up, cataloguing them, washing them, describing, drawing and digitizing them, macro- and sometimes microscopic analysis, matching pieces and repairing them, studying, researching, identifying, talking and dreaming about them…
I have also taken courses in making pottery, which actually provided me with an even greater appreciation of the skills involved. I’ve spent lots of time in museums looking at pottery too, so when I learned that there was this incredible museum (and pottery village) near Hanoi, it immediately became the highest priority for me to visit on this trip.
The Bat Trang Pottery Museum was built in 2018, and designed by architect Hoang Thuc Hao’s company.[1] It is an incredibly wonderous architectural masterpiece, so even if you don’t like pottery (yet) it would be worth a visit to see this building on its own. If you are really interested in the architecture be sure to read the designboom article about it from 2023.[2]
There are shops and artists studios on the main floor, and you take the elevator up to 2nd floor for the exhibit hall that explains the history of Bat Trang village and ceramics through the ages. There were examples from the 14th century through the modern period.
Some of the exhibits I enjoyed the most were the boat displaying how people travelled to the site in the 14th century [3], the models of people representing the different stages of the pottery making process, and the section showing failed firings (which is quite educational).
A traditional boat full of wares! The boat is described as being used by people from Yen Mo District, in Ninh Binh Province as they sailed upstream along the Red River and settled in the area of Bat Trang.
As a former Naval Officer ⚓another passion of mine is traditional boats and early sailing. Seeing this boat in a ceramic museum made my heart skip a beat! 💓
Following is a very small selection of the wonderful treasures housed in this museum!
Photos L-R: broken 14th century plate; sculpted vessel by Ha Van Lam; beautiful teapot; blue and white chrysanthemum vase by Pham Xuan Vu; Aladdin’s lantern; Jin Chan 金蟾 or Money Toad by artisan Le Huy Thanh
After I tore myself away from the museum we continued to walk about the village. There was an incredible abundance of shops and studios - although the studios seemed to only be open to specific (paid) tours. There was no dearth of pottery to be seen - from street lanterns, wall screens, mosaics, tiles and murals.
I had convinced myself that I wanted a ceramic Vietnamese coffee set, so we looked through numerous shops before I found this one (below) decorated with these lovely puffer fish! A delightful set that I’m sure I will love for years, however after I got home and looked at the mark, it clearly says Viet Nam and Hoi An - purchased in Bat Trang but made in Hoi An (in central Viet Nam).
A woman steadying two massive jars on the back of a motorcycle flatbed.
I had to run out of the coffee shop to get this shot!
We didn’t book a specific tour and I am good with that. I feel we had plenty of time to walk around, visit a crazy number of stores and oooh and aaahh over the quality and quantity of ceramics. We walked through the village market, admired the exquisitely carved wooden doors of the Tieu Dao Pagoda, and had a delicious iced chrysanthemum tea at the lovely Gốm coffee & tea.
Above: Just a tiny selection of pottery available for sale at the stores in the village - shops were often full to the roof and it was sometimes nerve-racking to carefully walk through the isles or step over piles of pottery on the floors.
It was an amazing day, but I could have spent weeks there exploring and talking to craftspeople. Bat Trang is definitely one of the places I would visit again if I’m lucky enough to return to Vietnam one day! ⭐⭐⭐⭐
[1] Vietnam Pictorial (2022) Exploring the Bat Trang Pottery Museum. Posted online 03/10/2022 https://vietnam.vnanet.vn/english/long-form/exploring-the-bat-trang-pottery-museum-310527.html
[2] Zeitoun, L (2023) 1+1>2 architects' pottery museum rises like a canyon amid the bat trang village in vietnam. designboom - Posted Nov 28, 2023 https://www.designboom.com/architecture/112-architects-pottery-museum-rises-like-canyon-bat-trang-village-vietnam-11-28-2023/
[3] “According to several historical documents, Bat Trang Pottery Village was established in the 14th or 15th century. However, it is believed that the village came into being earlier. As stated in some family annals, this village was formed when King Ly Cong Uan relocated the capital to Thang Long (now Hanoi).” Bat Trang Pottery Village: A traditional imprint in the heart of Hanoi. Posted on 14/03/2023 https://vinwonders.com/en/wonderpedia/news/bat-trang-pottery-village-a-traditional-imprint-in-the-heart-of-hanoi/
