Gold laminating and gilding in Kieu Ky Village

10/10/2020 | 07:49

The Kieu Ky gold laminating craft village (Gia Lam District, Hanoi) has a history of about 400 years. Through ups and downs, people still retain their traditional profession with stages that require ingenuity and sophistication.

Gold laminating,Kieu Ky Village,handicraft villages

Ultra-thin gold leaves for gilding are distinctive products made by artisans in Kieu Kỵ Commune, Gia Lam District, Hanoi, which cannot be found elsewhere in Vietnam. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Gold leave making is a sophisticated work which requires consummate skill and patience as artisans need to complete eight major steps with dozens of small tasks. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Artisan Nguyen Van Chung’s workshop. Hoang Hieu/VNA

Gold leave making is a sophisticated work which requires consummate skill and patience as artisans need to complete eight major steps with dozens of small tasks. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Artisan Nguyen Van Chung’s workshop. Hoang Hieu/VNA

To create a smooth and shiny golden coat for products, gilding craftsmen need to overlay the products with super-thin gold leaves while the paintwork is still wet. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

Kieu Ky people built a temple dedicated to Nguyen Quy Tri to show their gratitude to the ancestor of the craft. Photo: Tran Viet/VNA

VNA

Gold laminating and gilding in Kieu Ky village

Many may know how gilded products are made, but few know that there’s a tiny material used for such sophisticated artworks, which can be only made in an outskirt village of Hanoi.

Fading artform reborn in silver and gold

Having revived the art of phap lam, a technique of enamel painting and carving on metals, in early 2000, artisan Do Huu Triet then adapted it to silver and gold to make fashionable jewellery pieces, interior décor items, and paintings.

Comment