Golden imperial seal handed over to Vietnam from France

A Nguyen Dynasty’s golden seal of “Hoang de chi bao” (Treasure of the Emperor) was handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony held at the Vietnamese Embassy in France on Nov. 16.

The handover took place in the presence of Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO Le Thi Hong Van, and officials of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and UNESCO, said the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

This came as a result of more than one year of negotiation and implementation of legal procedures on halting the open auction of the seal, cast in 1823 under the reign of King Minh Mang, in Paris in November 2022, and handing over the object to Vietnam at the country’s request.

The Hoang Gia Nam Hong Co. Ltd, based in the northern province of Bac Ninh, was chosen to represent Vietnam to handle related financial procedures in line with French law. It will also preserve and display the seal and coordinate with the Vietnam National Museum of History to protect and bring into play the antique’s value.

On Nov. 12, 2022, the Department of Culture Heritage and Hoang Gia Nam Hong company signed an agreement on negotiating the purchase of the seal from France and transferring it to the state.

Under the deal, the company pledged that the seal will be transferred to the government via the culture ministry after a suitable period of time when the firm no longer has demand for possessing, displaying, and bringing into play the seal’s value at the Hoang Gia Nam Hong Museum in Bac Ninh.

Vietnam News Agency – November 18, 2023