Successful casting of Dong Son bronze drum

In the last days of 2005, scientists went to Tra Dong village, Thieu Trung commune, Thieu Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province to see firsthand the artisans of the village casting the Dong Son bronze drum according to the transmission method. system.

The visit took place after the talk of " Restoring Dong Son traditional bronze casting ", held in Thanh Hoa City on December 30 and 31, 2005, with the participation of scientists from the Archaeological Institute. , Vietnam History Museum, Southeast Asia History Center, Vietnam History Institute, Thanh Hoa Antiquities Association, Historical Society and Thanh Hoa Museum.

The casted products are complete copper drums, not mended, patched, the pattern is relatively sharp, the sound when hitting the drum with the ringing sound is not shy, it has proved to be a great success.

On January 2, Mr. Bui Ta Son - Director of Dong Son traditional copper casting rehabilitation facility said: He and the artisans cast the village of Tra Dong, Thieu Trung and Thieu Hoa districts with a successful version. Ngoc Lu copper after 2 attempts of casting failed. The drum version is 73cm tall, the diameter of the drum is 60cm wide and weighs 115kg.

According to Mr. Son, because there are some legal problems, this version of the bronze drum is not quite the same as Ngoc Lu bronze drum, but there is a mix of patterns of both Ngoc Lu bronze drums and Hoang Ha bronze drums. .

At present, the version of Ngoc Lu drum has been transferred to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Organization.

The place of casting drum is a trade village located in the middle of the area where many bronze drums are found, and there is a tradition of bronze casting and is still in operation. Therefore, it is likely that this craft village has gained experience in casting drums since the Dong Son culture period. Compared to the casting method of the old Vietnamese, the method of artisans today has many similarities:

1. The way of making molds is also 3 outer bins , including 1 face, 2 stems. The inner mold, also known as "sport" when paired with the outer mold, is a complete mold set. The studies of casting marks on Dong Son drums show the way of casting with such molds, but the main track is the remaining floating lines on Dong Son drum finished products.

2. Mold making material is also a traditional material , consisting of two basic components: clay, rice husk. It is the archaeological sites of Dong Son culture such as Lang Ca (Phu Tho) that discovered terracotta molds that showed the ancients cast bronze also with molds with such components.

3. The choice of copper-tin-lead alloy is also an alloy that ancient people used to cast Dong Son drums.

4. The creation of a system of positioning millet to close to the face and outer mold of the drum is also an ancient way to prevent mold being shifted when pouring copper. This is also clearly shown on the trace of a large number of Dong Son drums.

Tra Dong was once a famous trade village, a few dozen years ago, in the village, there were several hundred households living in bronze casting, providing a wide range of appliances for both reverse and lowland areas. In the village, there is also a temple to worship Khong Minh Khong copper. However, craft villages are now at risk of being wiped out in the whirlwind of the market economy. Currently only 22 households still have the opportunity to "fire" the foundry.