The people in Ha Thai village began painting with lacquer in the 17th century. In 1930, the first Vietnamese artists who graduated from the Indochina College of Fine Arts (currently the Vietnam University of Fine Arts) found the lacquer technique, which was immediately applied by Ha Thai craftsmen to create beautiful items.
Ha Thai is a popular lacquer brand thanks to its high quality and beautiful designs. Ha Thai lacquerware is not only gorgeous, shiny and durable, but also shows the creativity of talented craftsmen.
The village has nearly 800 households, 90% of which are engaged in creating lacquer art with around 1,600 workers, and thousands of laborers in the neighborhood. Ha Thai also has a lacquer association with 125 members.
Every year, Ha Thai produces millions of lacquer items with patterns featuring the natural scenery and culture of Vietnam. Among the patterns favored by foreign customers are the river wharf and banyan tree in Viet village, bamboo leaf-shaped boat, Ha Long bay and the One Pillar pagoda.
Ha Thai lacquerware is special, thanks to their artisans’ skill of carving on the lacquer pieces to create smooth and vivid patterns on the products. Apart from the traditional technique passed down from their ancestors, Ha Thai craftsmen have created new colors with numerous shades which add value to their products.
Ha Thai lacquer products are exported to the UK, France, Russia, the US, Spain, Australia, Italy, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
 The silver inlaying stage requires special skills.  Wrapping chiffon around a product before applying lacquer. 
The silver inlaying stage must be done carefully in an air-tight room.
 Polishing stage. 
Checking silver-inlaid lacquer ware to find and correct errors.
Big lacquer statues are a popular product line of Ha Thai.
 A lacquerware shop in Ha Thai village. Photo: Phuong Linh |
Ha Thai is a popular lacquer brand thanks to its high quality and beautiful designs. Ha Thai lacquerware is not only gorgeous, shiny and durable, but also shows the creativity of talented craftsmen.
The village has nearly 800 households, 90% of which are engaged in creating lacquer art with around 1,600 workers, and thousands of laborers in the neighborhood. Ha Thai also has a lacquer association with 125 members.
Every year, Ha Thai produces millions of lacquer items with patterns featuring the natural scenery and culture of Vietnam. Among the patterns favored by foreign customers are the river wharf and banyan tree in Viet village, bamboo leaf-shaped boat, Ha Long bay and the One Pillar pagoda.
Ha Thai lacquerware is special, thanks to their artisans’ skill of carving on the lacquer pieces to create smooth and vivid patterns on the products. Apart from the traditional technique passed down from their ancestors, Ha Thai craftsmen have created new colors with numerous shades which add value to their products.
Ha Thai lacquer products are exported to the UK, France, Russia, the US, Spain, Australia, Italy, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.
Ha Thai lacquer ware     |
By Phuong Linh
