via Vietnam Net, 18 June 2024: The Sao Vang bronze drum, a 2,000-year-old artifact from Vietnam’s Dong Son culture, has been insured for $1 million. Unearthed in Thanh Hoa, it features intricate patterns and motifs symbolizing ancient Vietnamese artistry and cosmology, marking it a national treasure.
The Sao Vang bronze drum was unearthed in the Sao Vang airport area in Tho Xuan district in Thanh Hoa province. The drum, a representative of the Dong Son culture dating back some 2,000 years, was declared a national treasure on January 18, 2024.
The drum’s surface was cast with four toad statues attached on four sides. On the middle of the drum surface, there is an embossed 12-pointed star with peacock feather-shaped patterns alternating among the points of the star. The star is surrounded by 11 pattern rims.
The decorative patterns on the drums are diverse, with many similarities to the Ngoc Lu, Huu Chung and Hy Cuong drums, displayed at the National Museum of History.
The drum also has other motifs such as bands of people dressed in feathers and stilt houses with cupped roofs, which are rarely seen on Dong Son-culture drums in Vietnam, but are often found on other drums in Southeast Asia.
Source: National treasure: Sao Vang bronze drum insured for $1 million
