Hue monuments conservation center manages The Museum of Royal Antiquities. It is exactly as its name shows it royal and fascinating. Building was made of Timber in 1845 as the Long An Palace by Thieu Tri Emperor. 128 precious timber pillars are used to create the building. Sides of the columns have 4 sacred spirits according to Vietnamese culture such as Turtle, Dragon, Phoenix and Unicorn. They also have 1000 poems in kanji. The display has an overall view of the Nguyen dynasty. Museum collection contains more than 300 gold artifacts, porcelain, connoisseurs, Royal belongings, Royal costume and much more.
- You may be interested in: Hue city tour
History of Royal antiquities museum
In 1923, the palace was converted into a museum that made it the earliest museum in Hue. Name of the museum was Musee Khai Dinh, when it was first established and after that, it was changed five times like Hue Museum of ancient art then it changed into hue museum of archaeological institute after that it was called antiques showroom, then the Museum of ancient treasures the Hue museum of Fine Arts and finally it became Museum of Royal Antiquities Hue.
Collection of the museum
There is a huge collection of 700 artifacts from Nguyen dynasty, Ly Dynasty, Chinese, Japanese and French ceramics. Apart from the displayed collection, there are thousands of other artifacts that museum has preserved and stored. Some names of the artifacts are Blue-glazed porcelain are known as Bleu de Hue, artifact from Nguyen dynasty is called Phap Lam Hue and clothes from Kings, queen, government officials and important people.
Phap Lam Hue
Phap Lam Hue is a highly technical map type of artifact from Nguyen dynasty without any duplicates. These were unique works made on the orders of emperors.
Champa artifacts
On another floor, there are 80 artifacts and sculptures from Champa dynasty. These artifacts are considered as a rare cultural heritage by researchers.
Ancient Coin collection
From the time of Nguyen dynasty, thematic coins were circulated in the country. Museum has a collection of antique coins. These antique money collection helps visitors and researchers to learn about the life of Vietnamese people through money.
Textiles
Textiles always played an important role in different periods of time. Their colors, prints and designs reflected lives of people. Emperors and their families had their own prints and designs according to their history, art and cultural preferences.
Games of Royalties
Different types of games were a part of different dynasties and emperor families. Museum collection has games from emperors, mandarins, rich and other upper class families. Most popular is the game Dau ho that belonged to the Bao Dai and Tu Duc emperors.
Costumes
Costumes of different emperors and government officials are displayed like hats, clothes, shoes, pants, boots and many others. Most prominent costumes are from Nguyen dynasty. Every pieces has a name and specific color scheme.
Different types of transport are available to reach this fascinating place like bike, scooter and cyclo taxi. It opens daily from 7am to 5pm. You can visit it by yourself or book a guided tour from different tourism service providers.