A woman who loves antiques
By Huy Nguyen in HCMC
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| Antique collector Nguyen Thi Tu Anh and one of her stone antiques dating back thousands of years - Photo: Huy Nguyen |
Nguyen Thi Tu Anh, or Bach Diep, has an antique collection of more than 1,000 artifacts made of stone, terracotta or bronze. Anh’s antiques date back from hundreds to thousands of years.
Most of her antiques are from the North of Vietnam, such as her thousand year old stone dog set and her set of terracotta works from the Dong Son 
period of 2,500 years ago.
“When I was a child, I had a deep passion for antiques when I saw a lot of religious antiques in my grandmother’s house,” said Anh.
The passion grew day by day. In 1986, Anh moved to HCMC and worked as a tour guide, giving her chances to return home in the North. “At that time, I often took tourists to visit pagodas and whenever I saw people throwing out antiques, I bought them for my house,” she added.
In the 1990’s, Anh started buying old objects at cheap prices.
“I love to learn history and antiques are witnesses of history. When you hold an antique of an era, you can know a part of the educational level and customs of that epoch. Therefore, I buy antiques to preserve the cultural soul of the country as well as to appreciate the past,” Anh said.
Enthusiasts offer high prices for her collections but Anh refuses.
Collectors without sufficient knowledge to distinguish real antiques from fakes are easily swindled.
To prevent fraud, Anh and other collectors established an antique club for antique lovers to introduce their collections and exchange experience and knowledge.
Anh also writes articles about antiques. “I want to hand down the passion to antique lovers.”
Anh returns to the North twice a month to hunt for antiques. She hopes to open a private museum to preserve the culture of the nation and introduce young generations to ancient culture and history.