By: William Hoffer

The Vietnamese have a long and rich history, some dating up to 8,000 BCE

In the second century BC the Chinese dominated this area, so Chinese influence is undoubtivly involved in the art.

By the 19th century, the influence of French art took hold in Vietnam, mainly causing the birth of modern Vietnamese art.

Pottery dating to 8,000 BCE has been found in Vietnam. This pottery was largely basic and lacking any artistic flare. Moving into the neolithic era, however, vietnamese pottery and ceramics started to develop rapidly

The highly developed Dong Son culture that flourished in North Vietnam, from about 1,000 BC to the 4th century BC, was the civilization responsible for the famous Dong Son drums, a product of their advanced bronze-casting skills

The drums give us an important peek into early Vietnamese life. They were elaborately decorated with geometric patterns, and most importantly depicted scenes of everyday life such as farming, warriors donning feather headdresses, construction of ships, musicians, etc.

Archaeological evidence from this period also shows that people in the area had long been weaving cloth. Many of the people depicted on the drums are shown as wearing elaborate clothing.

During the 10 centuries of rule by the Chinese, Vietnam began to apply new Chinese techniques to art and specifically ceramics.

In the 13 century the most domineering period of rule came over Vietnam.

Many books and pieces of art were burned during these two decades so art actually declined.

Art in Vietnam in the 19th century was heavily influenced by the French culture.

Modern Vietnamese artists began to use French techniques with many traditional mediums such as silk, lacquer, etc., thus creating a unique blend of eastern and western elements