South of Hà Nội is Chuyên Mỹ Commune, where generations of craftsmen have transformed modest mussels into shimmering works of art. When the global taste changes, this thousand-year-old pearl mother, which develops further-and combines old skills with modern flair to shine on the world stage, writes Bui Quynh Hoa.
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| Decorative patterns in Chuyên Mỹs Perlmutt-Inlay artwork are alive and soulful. VNS photo đoàn tùng |
About 40 km south of Central Hà Nội, where the noise of the city gives way to the gentle fragrance of lotus flowers and birdsong, is a village that shimmers with centuries -long art of craftsmanship.
The municipality of Chuyên Mỹ in the district of Phú Xuyên is not just a peaceful escape on the land-es is the cradle of one of the most exquisite handicrafts by VIệT NAM: Perlmutt mother.
Here the tradition is not only preserved, but lived. The hands that are in modest workshops, behind bamboo members and painted panels, calmly functioning shimmering shell pieces that come together to tell stories that are older than the memory.
On an airy summer morning, the road to Chuyên Mỹ is lined with flowering pink lotus ponds and lively extravagant trees. The early air bears a touch of sea water and paint. There is a silence here that feels time.
But listen carefully and the rhythmic knocking of chisels shows the pulse of the village.
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| Master Artisan Nguyễn Xuân dũng works meticulously in a picture with pearl mother inlay. |
In a small workshop, Nguyễn Xuân Dũng, whose family has been practicing this craft for five generations, bends over a wooden panel. In his fingers there is a tiny fragment of the mother -of -mother mother.
“This work requires patience, but the result speaks for itself,” he says and his eyes never leave the shell when he leads it in place. Around him, dozens of trays shimmer with abalons, shells and mussel shells that are waiting to be shaped into history.
A craft that was carved by time
The art of MosaicMỹ has been practiced in Chuyên in Chuyên in Chuyên Mỹ. According to Village Elder Nguyễn Phú Chiến, the origin of the craft comes down to the 11th century.
“Our village reveres Trương Công Thành, who is called the founding father of this craft,” says Chiến.
“He was a general under the national hero Lý thường. After withdrawing from military life, he spent his days in nature and encountered the beauty of the river shells. That was the beginning.”
From decorative altar panels to large furniture, art flourished among dynasties and weathered wars. Through all of this, the villagers held firmly on their chisels and not only protected a trade, but also an identity.
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| Creating pickled works of art requires time and patience, but the result speaks volumes. |
The creation of an inserted piece of pearl is nothing less than alchemy.
“There are six main steps,” says Dũng. “First we sketch a design on the chase paper and then transfer it to the flattened mussels. These outlines are carefully cut. Then the wood carving comes, where we prepare space for each inlay. Then everything is smooth, polished and painted to get the shimmer out. Finally, the panel in black paint or varish is coated.”
Depending on the complexity of the design, the process can take days or even weeks. The materials come from VIệT and abroad, including large, bright yolk -like pearls from Singapore and rare red snails that are used in the royal style motifs.
“The most valued cover has the shine of a rainbow,” says Dũng. “Every fragment is like a brush stroke of the palette of nature.”
A trademark of the technology of Chuyên Mỹ is precision. “We don't allow gaps between inlays. The fit must be precise as if the shell had grown there,” he says.
Each scene – a dragon in flight, a scholar under a pine, a mother who wears her child – is permeated with symbolism. “It's not just decoration,” explains DũNG. “It is storytelling. It is our story in mussel and wood.”
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| CHUYYOS MOSED MOSED MOSED MOSE MORE MORE COMPLESS AND COMPLESS and colors. |
For generations, the craft men of Chuyên Mỹ ceremonial furniture, altar panels and classic paintings were produced, which were inspired by legendary stories.
But the taste has changed.
“Young families no longer want the bulky, decorated furniture of their grandparents,” says Artisan vũ đình. “You want something that fits into modern houses – elegant, functional and global.”
And so the village has to transform. Craftsmen have introduced new product lines in the past ten years: minimalist jewelry boxes, portrait inserts and slim home decoration. Exports now reach Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the USA and Russia.
“We still keep the soul, but we are developing,” says đình.
Nguyễn đình Hân, head of Chuôn ngọ Hamlet, simply does it: “If foreigners admire our work, she reminds us that this tradition has a place in the world.”
This development was not easy. Many craftsmen still use hand tools and every inlay is unique. The competition with mass -produced objects that have been imported often remains a challenge.
“Customers prefer beauty today, but also practicability,” adds đình. “It forces us to improve not only to copy the past.”
Tradition meets the technology
In 2023, all seven hammers of Chuyên Mỹ Commune were officially recognized by the Hà -nội -Volks Committee as traditional craft villages [Administration]. Over 80 percent of the almost 3,000 households of the municipality still take part in the craft, and 15 craftsmen champions have the honor at the city level.
However, maintaining the industry requires more than skill – it needs marketing.
Nguyễn Trung Hội, chairman of the Chuyên Mỹ People's Committee, says that digital platforms have become a lifeline.
“We work with trade promotion centers and organize both offline and online product exhibitions and started to train families to live their sales on Saturdays,” he says.
The results are striking. “In the first four months of this year, the online turnover exceeded over 70 billion VN (approx. 2.7 million US dollars),” says Hội.
“Families are now investing in photography, lighting and digital branding. Online trading helps us to reach beyond the village, even beyond the country.”
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| Young craftsmen are devoted to their work in a small workshop in Chuyên Mỹ Commune. |
Even if the village is modernized, his heart hits the hands of those who remember its roots.
Duy Hai Phat, a craftsmanship in Chu NGO, reflects the balance between progress and preservation.
“Machines can do work faster, but they can't make it soulful,” he says. “A handmade piece has breath – you can feel the manufacturer's intention.”
Phát and others are now working with universities and cultural institutions to document the techniques of integration and at the same time offer younger generations of design workshops.
“We tell the youngsters: innovation, but remember. Your hands write the next chapter of a thousand years of history,” he says.
In another family workshop, Lâm Văn t ứ gently wraps a jewelry box that is bound to a customer in Singapore. Next to him, his father polishes the surface of a tea cabinet that is inspired by designs from the 19th century. You work softly side by side.
“Every bowl we use bears a piece of us: our past, our patience and our pride,” says Tứ.
While the sun goes down over the Lotus pond of Chuyên Mỹ, its painted panels catch the last golden light. The inlays shimmer, unemployed and yet alive and whisper stories through shimmer and silence. Tradition does not stand still in this village. It shimmers forward, a shell each. VNS