Restoration is preserving the past

Part of the story about the six-year process to restore Hue city’s An Dinh palace is written in the book entitled “An Dinh – Hue’s Hidden Treasure” in Vietnamese.
The books were introduced on May 6 at the Goethe Institute in Hanoi and will be introduced at the Hue Festival this June.
This is a tri-lingual book (Vietnamese, English, Germany), which details the preservation and restoration process of An Dinh palace. The major works in An Dinh palace are six mural paintings and ancient statues. The book has lively pictures and detailed captions to help readers appreciate the unique combination of Vietnamese classic style and Europe baroque style. The book goes with an electronic version, a DVD in three languages.
From the story about An Dinh palace, Andrea Teufel, director of the German preservation, restoration and training project in Vietnam talked with Tuoi Tre about her worries of wrong viewpoints on restoration.
What is your opinion about the fact that many historical relics in Vietnam are being renewed?
The point of view about restoration in Vietnam is very different. There is a “movement” of restoration called “breaking down the old to build the new”! But this is contrary to the preservation techniques: not changing the original elements. When we restored the An Dinh palace, some people complained why the work didn’t change much. Why they are not newer or more beautiful? I hope to see the change in your viewpoints.
Historical relics must transmit the message of the past. The goal of restoration is to maintaining that past. Only respecting the origins, we can transmit future generations truthful and outstanding values of the human heritages. However, restoration activities need to have reliable historical documents.
What have you learned from restoration in Vietnam?
We didn’t spend much money but gained ideal results from restoring relics in Hue. This is the typical lesson for our experts. While restoring six large mural paintings describing the tombs of Nguyen Dynasty kings, we discovered that the colours used to paint these paintings were made from the resin of son tree in Vietnam and wax or the gate at King Tu Duc tomb was built by Vietnamese traditional construction materials, including molasses, lime and sand.
Applying European preservation methods on Vietnam’s traditional materials which are durable and cheap is a valuable experience in restoration.
The An Dinh palace is now immune from the attack of microorganisms and its colour is durable. The result is satisfactory.
We are seeking the most unique relics for preservation. There are two concerns: tree roots are harming relics and the impacts of climate change on relics in Vietnam.
In you opinion, what should Vietnam do to support restoration of relics in Vietnam?
Vietnam has so many works that need restoration. When we went to Vietnam, we immediately urged Vietnam to have a training programme on restoration in various levels besides restoration. We currently offer training courses for up to 15 trainees only. It’s time for Vietnam to have the subject or faculty on preservation and restoration of historical works at universities. Restoration work requires deep knowledge and understanding about natural sciences, construction materials and art history.
During the restoration of An Dinh palace, our group wrote a manual for Vietnamese trainees. I hope that this book would be a premise for the future. But I worry the most that when we leave, whether the old working type will return?
The knowledge that Vietnamese trainees learn from our experts can help see the matters and make timely intervention in but it is important to make their voice to reach competent agencies.
Restoration of An Dinh palace began in June 2002 when Germany sent experts and contributed 17,580 euros to restore six wall paintings at the palace. The project has a cost of over 444,000 euros, including 355,000 euros provided by Germany.
In the first two-year phase since 2003, six frescoes in the lobby of three-storey Khai Tuong Tower, the centrepiece of An Dinh Palace, were restored with the use of preservatives that aim to halt environmental degradation and restore the original facade. These 90 year-old frescos each measure 1.9x1.4m or 1.8x1m and have gold-plated frames made of wood, with carvings of modified apricot blossoms and lotuses.
During the second phase in 2005-2007, the project aimed to revive about 3,600 square.metres of frescos and decorative patterns on the palace walls. As of Jan. 2007, seven major rooms of An Dinh Palace have been restored.
An Dinh Palace is one of the typical structures of Hue imperial city, built on the order of King Dong Khanh (1886-1888) on the An Cuu River right after his accession to the throne. Later, King Khai Dinh (1916-1925) had it transformed into a magnificent palace.
The architecture and inner decoration of Khai Tuong Tower in particular and An Dinh Palace in general, fuse western and eastern cultural styles from the beginning of the 20th century. An Dinh Palace is a combination of steel-reinforced concrete of the west and the traditional wood, bricks and tiles of Vietnam.
Like many other architectural structures in Hue, after nearly 100 years of existence, An Dinh Palace has been badly affected by wars, harsh weather conditions, and repeated political upheavals. As a result, frescoes are fading and distorted, many wall sections with sophisticated designs and patterns are now covered with lime washes and dust after such a long period of time.
The restoration process was trained 15 Vietnamese experts, who assisted the Germans in restoring King Tu Duc’s tomb in Hue and Hanoi’s Tran Dang ancient village.