On the afternoon of August 11, 2023, at the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, a meeting was held for the Appraisal Council of Artifact Profiles to request the recognition of National Treasures for the 12th set of 2023 for artifact collections of Thăng Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center and Nguyễn Văn Kính Private Collection.

The appraisal council includes Chairman of the Council: Mr. Đỗ Đình Hồng - Director of Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and members of the Council Representatives of the Thăng Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center (the unit with artifacts proposed to be recognized as a National Treasure in 2023) are Mr. Nguyễn Thanh Quang - Director, Ms. Nguyễn Hồng Chi - Deputy Director, and leaders, officials of departments have compiled documents.

At the meeting, the Appraisal Council heard Ms. Nguyen Hong Chi - Deputy Director of the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center report on documents requesting recognition of the Center's National Treasure: Boddhi leaves with phoenix motif of the Ly Dynasty (11th century); Sword inlaid with three precious metals; The card "Cung nữ xuất mãi bài" (palace entrance card of the palace maid) in1466; Architectural model of the Lê sơ dynasty and set of outdoor stair railings at Cổ Loa temple , Lê Trung hưng dynasty.

The stone railings are placed in front of the outer ceremonial gate at Cổ Loa Temple, also known as Thượng Temple, the temple of King An Dương, "The main Palace", located on a high ground, in the southwest corner of the Internal rampart.

Thượng Temple (Cổ Loa temple)

Photographer: Võ Rin

The pair of dragons are carved on a large block of stone, which are strongly shaped, with big, strong curves and covered with scales all the way to the tail. The two stair railings have relatively similar structures and decorative patterns. The main theme is the dragon image carved in a moving position from top to bottom along the vertical wall of the railings.

A set of stair railings at the outer ceremonial gate of Cổ Loa temple

(Source: Management Department of The Cổ Loa vestige site)

The set of stair railings of Cổ Loa Temple, dated 1732, is the only one in the country associated with a famous relic, worshiping King An Dương- the king who founded the Âu Lạc state in the 3rd century BC. It is a set of stair railings that are part of the architecture of the King's temple, located in the Cổ Loa special national monument. The size, structure and decorative patterns of the citadel are not repeated in any “same function and age” monument in Vietnam.

The Council discussed and evaluated according to the criteria of National Treasures specified in Clause 21, Article 1, Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Cultural Heritage and Article 2, Circular No. 13/ 2010/TT-BVHTTDL, December 30, 2010 of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Based on that, it serves as a basis for advising the Hanoi People's Committee to submit to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Prime Minister for consideration and recognition of national treasures in the 12th set of 2023.

MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE CỔ LOA VESTIGE SITE