Exhibitions of Trade Ceramics Museum in Hoi An

The Museum of Trade Ceramics of Hoi An houses a collection of nearly 370 artifacts that date from the 9th to 19th centuries. They come from everywhere in Hoi An, underground or under the sea, and many countries in the world.

On the ground floor, visitors will have the chance to know better about Hoi An’s role as an international trading port. Back to history, Hoi An port was established in the 15th-16th centuries, and reached its peak in the 17th-18th centuries. Merchants from the rest of the world came here to trade with Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese people. Besides ceramics, they also seek spices, silk, bird nests, sugarcane, agarwood,… to collect and bring home. On the wall, to the right of the boat, there are maps and pictures of Hoi An (past and present) and a world map showing maritime trading networks.

On the wall, to the left of the boat, there is a copy of the painting ‘Giao Chi Quoc Mau Dich Do Hai Do’ (Chinese: 交趾国渡航図巻, English: voyage to trade in Jiaozhi (the way Japanese call Vietnam at that time)). It’s drawn by Chaya Shinroku (茶屋新六), a Japanese merchant in the 17th century. It portrays boats moving from the sea (from Nagasaki) towards inland, through a river to Hoi An port and then Thanh Chiem citadel to see Nguyen lord to send gifts. The original painting has been preserved in a Buddhist temple at Nagoya, Japan.

In the center, there is a model of ghe bau, a specific type of sail boat to Hoi An (or Quang Nam). It’s made by Huynh Ri, one of the most reputable wood carving artists in Hoi An’s Carpentry Village. According to historians, its name ‘bau’ might be a wrong spelling of ‘perahu mayang’ or ‘prau’, a type of boat used for fishing and trading activities in Malaysia and Indonesia. Somebody believes that prau is a kind of speed rowing boat used by pirates in the Indian Ocean.

In Vietnam, production of ceramics started 2,000 years ago, in the Red River Delta. Exported Vietnamese ceramics are seen across the world today, but the earliest ones amongst them are just made in the 14th century. Major ceramic workshops in the country at the same time were Bat Trang, Chu Dau, Go Sanh, Phuoc Tich, so on.

Information about House 80 Tran Phu (the museum) is also provided in a small corner of the ground floor. Please read the details above. In the middle of the floor, there is a big sailing boat, showing the vehicle to travel on the sea and to reach the new countries.

When on the sea, sailing boats can face different dangers, like typhoons. Some boats leaving Hoi An that are full of amazing ceramics, were sunk. In the 1990s, local fishermen found one shipwreck that was 20 km east of the Cham Islands, and 80 meters below the sea surface (so that it’s called ‘Cham Islands shipwreck’). Quickly after that, collectors came to the archipelago and tried to buy something. From 1997 to 2000, the Vietnamese government co-operated with English and Malaysian experts to excavate the shipwreck. They reported that it’s totally made of wood, 29 meters long and 7 meters wide (might be built in Thailand). It carried 240,000 objects, including mostly Vietnamese ceramics (produced at a workshop in north Vietnam), and Thai, Chinese, Cham potteries. Their age is 15th century.

‘Cham Islands shipwreck’ is the largest underwater excavation in Vietnam’s history. Artifacts found are distributed to leading museums in the country, and of course, a small portion has been preserved at Hoi An’s Museum of Trade Ceramics.

On the second floor, visitors will see ceramics discovered in different places around Hoi An city (such as Chaozhou Assembly Hall, Cam Pho Communal House, House 129 Phan Chu Trinh St, House 85 Tran Phu St). This tells us that ceramics production and exportation were popular at that time.

From the balcony of the 2nd floor, it’s possible to see the street below, the roof of other houses and the life in town. The view is good to have some pictures.