Phap Lam artisans to decorate lamps for crafts festival

Phap Lam art, in which copper is coated in enamel and then carved, has been brought back to life.--VNS file photo

DA NANG (VNS)– Artists and craftsmen will decorate two lamps with Phap Lam art at Hue City's Tu Tuong Park on the occasion of the traditional crafts festival in April, project manager Do Huu Triet said.

Phap Lam art, in which copper is coated in enamel and then carved, enjoyed a brief heyday in Hue City in the early 1800s. In 1827, the technique's popularity reached its peak; it disappeared by 1842.

Today, however, Triet has brought the craft back to life.

"These lamps are models used in the buildings of the Royal Palace in Hue from previous centuries," he explained.

Visitors can also see the 98 remaining ancient Phap Lam enamel products from the previous centuries in the Fine Arts Museum of Hue or on the roofs of buildings in the Inner City.

Triet has also restored hundreds of reliefs found in the ruins of tombs of King Minh Mang (1820-1840) and King Thieu Tri (1841-1847), as well as other buildings of the Royal Palace.

Hue will host the Traditional Crafts Festival from April 27 to May 1 to highlight traditional crafts nation-wide. – VNS