German specialist at home in Hue heritage site

She was born and grew up in Potsdam, a former old imperial city just like Hue, and she said she had always dreamt of working in a place full of antiques and paintings. She is Andrea Teufel, who had worked for seven years restoring paintings in the world heritage site.
In 2003 the German embassy launched a conservation project on restoration and education in Hue, a world cultural heritage site recognised by UNESCO. Andrea was later to be promoted to project director.
“I was told about a job in Vietnam and took it immediately as the country sounded more Asian than Thailand, where I had refused a similar offer,” said the German conservationist.
Her team’s first assignment was to restore six ancient murals in the An Dinh Palace, which portay royal tombs from the Nguyen Dynasty which lasted from 1802-1945.
Andrea said she was impressed at the astonishing mixture of east and west in these old paintings, as they were covered with thousands of designs and rich in traditional character, while the technology and style came from Europe.
However, she also felt very sad over the terrible state of An Dinh Palace as mould was causing enormous damage, especially to the murals.
Therefore, she asked the German embassy to expand the project to include the entire palace.
“I discovered that the painting techniques were similar to what I was taught in Italy when I was learning about fresco,” she said.
Fresco, meaning “Fresh” in Italian, is a form of painting where earth-based pigments are applied directly to wet lime plaster. The colours are made by grinding up the dry power pigments then mixing them with pure water. After they have dried out and set, they become a permanent part of the wall or ceiling. This style is ideal for painting murals because it is durable and has a matt finish.
After sending samples to laboratories in Germany, Andrea became totally absorbed in researching the substance used in the process as well as methods of conservation so she could restore the murals to their original state.
Working from early in the morning until late at night, the German restorer has trained 15 local painters, whom she recruited, to hand down this technique to so her work can be continued after she leaves the project.
After finishing the An Dinh project, Andrea and her local trainees continued with the conservation of King Tu Duc’s tomb in Hue and the communal house in Tran Dang in Hanoi.
“I’m a foreigner and won’t be here for ever so they are the ones who will do the bulk of the job to preserve Hue ’s heritage,” said the German specialist modestly.