Bat trang ceramics – A Pride of Hanoians

Bát Tràng is a 500-year-old ancient village located about 10 kilometers away to the Southeast of Hanoi, alongside the left bank of the Red River. In the past, it used to belong to Bắc Ninh Province but nowadays it’s part of Gia Lâm District, the suburb of Hanoi

Bát Tràng ceramic market in the past

As being told from generation to generation, after the Lý Dynasty relocated the capital from Hoa Lư to Đại La and renamed the city into Thăng Long, permitted by the King, ceramic craftsmen from Vĩnh Ninh Tràng, Bồ Xuyên and Bạch Bát village (Thanh Hóa – Ninh Bình province) travelled to Bạch Thổ Phường to open and establish a village specifically producing pottery and bricks for the feudal state at that time. After generations, the name “Bạch Thổ Phường” became “Bát Tràng”. Many family archives in Bát Tràng mentioned about how they started up the pottery handicraft in Bạch Thổ Phường. The process of moving from their home village to the new one happened for centuries, especially during the Trần Dynasty at the end of 14^th century, the Earlier Lê Dynasty and the Revival Lê Dynasty. The main reason Bồ Bát people chose this land to settle down was because of the white clay present here – a great ingredient to create fine ceramics. Moreover, this land is located alongside Nhị River (another name for Red River), meaning it’s very convenient for transportation especially carriage and exchange of goods.

At the beginning of the 19^th century, the Nguyễn Dynasty started building Huế Citadel and royal tombs, people from Bát Tràng village were in charge of supplying bricks for the construction.

Bát Tràng Ceramics in the past

Ceramic white glazed giant vase (Lý Dynasty, 11^th-13^th century)	Bát Tràng ceramics is famous both inside and outside Vietnam. In order to produce ceramics, craftsmen have to proceed through various steps: sourcing clay, preparing clay, creating form, carving clay, glazing your work and finally glaze fire. According to experiences passed down through generations by Bát Tràng villagers, “frame first, surface second and perfect temperature last”. The potters believe that pottery is similar to a living body, a miniature universe that is a harmonious combination of 5 elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The development of pottery is supposed to depend on the harmonious combination of those 5 elements and this harmonious combination depends on the rigorous creative and production process and Bát Tràng ceramic products have been brought to China through diplomacy and trading since early times
The main raw material to produce pottery is white clay. Previously, Bát Tràng had a white clay mine; by the 18^th century, the source of white clay here was exhausted, therefore Bát Tràng people had to seek for new sources of clay in some other northern provinces. The treatment and preparation of soil as raw material for ceramic production aims at removing some impurities in the clay. In addition, depending on the requirements of different types of pottery, there may be different ways to prepare the soil to create suitable products. Over the past decades, the vitality of traditional craft village has been lit up by thousands of pottery kilns burning all day and night. At present, in Bát Tràng, many factories are not using coal, firewood or wheat straw to burn, instead using industrial kilns to burn with gas, thus limiting environmental pollution and reducing waste. The common themes for decoration of Bat Trang ceramics are dragon, phoenix, verses, patterns, human, flower, natural scenery … all reflects the spiritual life and philosophy of Vietnamese people.	Giant porcelain vase decorated with lotuses and daisy strings (Trần Dynasty, 13^th-14^th century)
Blue patterned porcelain vase (Early Lê Dynasty, 15^th century)	In the past centuries, Bat Trang ceramics is mainly ornaments for worship. Later, it has come in the form of many household appliances, most commonly bowls, plates, vase, jars, pots, cups. And today, Bát Tràng ceramic products are highly diversified in categories and designs, including fine craft items such as mosaic plates, flower vases, animal toys, figure statues and embossments requiring high techniques and technology. The collections of Bát Tràng ceramics have reached the pinnacle of art and ceramics making technique in Vietnam
Bát Tràng ceramic products are not only popular nationwide but also exported to many countries around the world since 1990 such as Japan, Korea, the US and EU countries. Many ancient Bát Tràng ceramic products are being kept at some famous museums in the world such as the Royaux Museum in Belgium and the Guimet Museum in France	Ceramic items (15^th-17^th century)

Bát Tràng Ceramics at present

Decorating Bát Tràng ceramics for beautiful finished products

Since 2002, Bát Tràng craftsmen began to collaborate on the production and consumption of products through Bat Trang Ceramics Association. Members of the association are not only families producing ceramics but also ceramic trading companies. Through the association, Bát Tràng people have the opportunity to learn about the market with updated knowledge on ceramic production technology, e-commerce and ways to improve competitive capacity.

Recently, Bát Tràng Ceramics Association has established the Bát Tràng Export Promotion Center and started to build the brand “Bát Tràng Vietnam – 1,000 years of tradition”.