HÀ NỘI — Authorities of Tây Ninh Province have submitted a dossier to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, asking for an ancient stone sculpture to be recognised as a national treasure.

The 80cm-tall sculpture, dated between the 13th and 19th century, is one of the 1,600 antiques displayed in the provincial museum.

The sculpture is in the form of a multi-storey column and has been carved from a single stone. The head is shaped like a symbolic lotus, while the body is carved with lotus petals. Its base is 48cm in diametre and 8cm thick, and the artefact weighs around 200kg.

Experts at the museum said the artefact was discovered in 1999 at an archaeological site in the southern province’s Bàu Tép Village in Tiên Thuận Commune, Bến Cầu District.

In a report dated June 28, 2017, researchers such as Bùi Chí Hoàng from the Southern Region Social Sciences Institute, Nguyễn Khánh Trung Kiên, deputy director of the Institute’s Archaeology Centre, and Hoàng Anh Tuấn, director of HCM City History Museum, have stated that the sculpture is an “original and unique object with distinguishing decorative patterns made by artisans between the 13th and 19th century.”

“The object meet all criteria for a national treasure,” the report said.

Local authorities have submitted the dossier to the ministry and the Prime Minister. — VNS