‘Tale of Kieu’ lacquer painting auctioned for 83,000 USD
The painting Nguyet Uoc (Promise under Moonlight) depicting the love between Thuy Kieu and Kim Trong in Kieu’s Tale by Nguyen Du, was auctioned at Chon’s Auction House in Hanoi on December 24 for 83,000 USD.
The painting Nguyet Uoc (Promise under Moonlight). (Photo: zing.vn)
Hanoi (VNA) -The painting Nguyet Uoc (Promise under Moonlight) depicting the love between ThuyKieu and Kim Trong in Kieu’s Tale by Nguyen Du, was auctioned at Chon’s AuctionHouse in Hanoi on December 24 for 83,000 USD.
In the painting by Nguyen Tu Nghiem (1922 – 2016), Kim Trong and Thuy Kieuperformed a vow under the moonlight, the most beautiful part of the story byDu, who lived from 1766 to 1820.
Tran Quoc Hung, auction director of Chon’s Auction House, said he hoped tocontribute to building up professional market for Vietnamese fine arts byintroducing high quality works with a guaranteed source.
"The amount of 83,000 USD is a high number in the Vietnamese domestic finearts market," he said. "It proved that the collector respected thepainting’s value."
The 70cm by 50cm lacquer previously belonged to private collector Phan Van Phuc.
During his career, Nghiem drew several series of lacquer paintings with simplebut splendid colours on the themes of the people’s everyday lives in towns andthe countryside. He creatively included the motifs of ancient dances and theimage of Saint Giong, a legendary hero of ancient Vietnam, in his paintings.
He also painted illustrations for Kieu’s Tale, the masterpiece of Vietnameseliterature, but these paintings haven’t been published alongside the book.Since 2015, they have been shown to the public at exhibitions.
Nghiem is one of the four master painters in the last generation of artiststrained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de L’Indochine (1941-1946), together with BuiXuan Phai, Nguyen Sang and Duong Bich Lien.
Among 48 artworks auctioned at the same time, 21 sold for a total amount of 216,400USD.
The paintings Dang Ngoc (Natural Beauty) by Nguyen Huyen and Doi Hoa (Life ofFlowers) by Le Pho were auctioned at 45,000 USD and 27,000 USD, respectively.-VNA
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The painting Nguyet Uoc (Promise under Moonlight). (Photo: zing.vn) 
