Kolkata, Nov 2 (IANS) With the assistance of Indian researchers, Vietnam's Da Nang Museum of Cham sculpture will launch its new catalogue next year symbolising the ancient cultural links between the two nations, the museum director said here on Wednesday.
The Champa kingdom is an ancient Indo-influenced culture in the far-east.
"We collaborated with the National Museum Institute of History of Art, Conservation and Museology in New Delhi to help design our catalogue of our museum's collection. It will be launched next year in Delhi. They have helped us with the text as well," said Vo Van Thang, Director of the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture in Vietnam.
He was at the Indian Museum here to introduce the Champa kingdom and the Da Nang Museum.
Built in 1915, the museum houses nearly 2,000 sculptures made during the Indian-influenced Cham civilisation that flourished in Vietnam between the 6th and 18th centuries, with 475 on display inside and in the garden and the rest in its vaults.
The Cham sculptures are known for the series of impressive tower-temples that extended across the coast of what is today central and southern Vietnam. The site was the religious and political capital of the Champa kingdom for most of its existence. One of the most iconic samples of the culture is the 'My Son Sanctuary' which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
Highlighting the significance of the Cham sculptures in the context of India-Vietnam relations, Thang noted that Indian culture came to the southeast asian nation in a peaceful way.
"I am happy that Indian culture came to Champa in a very peaceful way and not through war. Local innovations made it a special culture. The new generation recognises the ancient relation between India and Vietnam and its 2000-year-old history," Thang said.
"The themes and styles of the carvings on the Cham sculptures are the strong proofs of the deep integration of Indian culture with the ancient Cham people," he added.
