In his three-storey house at No.155, Road D5, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Hieu Tin utilises most of the space inside for displaying unique collections of pottery and statues, each divided into different themes and materials. For example, his collection of tea pots is classified in terms of materials, such as Bien Hoa pottery, pottery of southern Vietnam and Chinese pottery.
In the sitting room stands a statue of Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, a national hero in the Tran Dynasty of the 13th century, who fought against Yuanmeng invaders. On the two sides of this statue are two ceramic vases related to Hai Ba Trung (two Trung sisters) riding their elephants to defeat the Han invaders.
Talking about his idea of collecting celebrity statues, Hieu Tin said that when he reads books about Vietnamese celebrities, he wants to learn more about the characters through the nuance and shapes of statues, thereby spending much time and effort to look for rare statues for his collection.
Hieu Tin always focuses on arranging objects in a space embellished with Vietnamese culture. It is the way he wants to introduce to viewers the national cultural features though each theme that can be seen through his collection of toads. He arranged toad statues of different shapes into a classroom which is based on the theme of a Dong Ho folk painting entitled “Lao Oa doc sach” (Mr. Oa reads a book).
For Hieu Tin, these collections are very valuable and serve as live documents and materials for his research. At present, he is writing about Bien Hoa pottery and the collection of Bien Hoa pottery is a documentary resource for him.
So far, his “small museum” has become a rendezvous for not only culture researchers and collectors, but also for students and tourists to learn more Vietnamese culture in every period.
Box: For Hieu Tin, these collections are very valuable and serve as live documents and materials for his research. At present, he is writing about Bien Hoa pottery and the collection of Bien Hoa pottery is a documentary resource for him.
In the sitting room stands a statue of Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan, a national hero in the Tran Dynasty of the 13th century, who fought against Yuanmeng invaders. On the two sides of this statue are two ceramic vases related to Hai Ba Trung (two Trung sisters) riding their elephants to defeat the Han invaders.
 The collection of tea pots.  A tea pot with landscape patterns.    Unique tea pots made from Bien Hoa and Southern Vietnam.  A corner displaying vases.     Ancient pottery vases.  Images of Vietnamese girls on Bien Hoa pottery.    The collection of “Ong dia” imbued with southern culture.  These collections serve as documents for his research.. |
Talking about his idea of collecting celebrity statues, Hieu Tin said that when he reads books about Vietnamese celebrities, he wants to learn more about the characters through the nuance and shapes of statues, thereby spending much time and effort to look for rare statues for his collection.
Hieu Tin always focuses on arranging objects in a space embellished with Vietnamese culture. It is the way he wants to introduce to viewers the national cultural features though each theme that can be seen through his collection of toads. He arranged toad statues of different shapes into a classroom which is based on the theme of a Dong Ho folk painting entitled “Lao Oa doc sach” (Mr. Oa reads a book).
For Hieu Tin, these collections are very valuable and serve as live documents and materials for his research. At present, he is writing about Bien Hoa pottery and the collection of Bien Hoa pottery is a documentary resource for him.
So far, his “small museum” has become a rendezvous for not only culture researchers and collectors, but also for students and tourists to learn more Vietnamese culture in every period.
Box: For Hieu Tin, these collections are very valuable and serve as live documents and materials for his research. At present, he is writing about Bien Hoa pottery and the collection of Bien Hoa pottery is a documentary resource for him.
Story: Nguyen Vu Thanh Dat - Photos: Thong Hai
