At the auction held in Paris, France, on March 31, there were 373 paintings, lacquerware, ceramics, artifacts from the Nguyen Dynasty, and bronze and ceramic works belonging to the School of Bien Hoa in the 20th century.
A 1966 three-panel lacquer painting "Phong Canh Dong Bang Song Cuu Long" (Landscape of the Mekong Delta) by Nguyen Van Thanh was sold for 15,000 euros ($16,270). It depicts a river with houses nestling under trees, a bridge over the river and children bathing buffaloes.
“Duoi Goc Cay Da” (Under the Banyan Tree) by Nguyen Mai Thu fetched 5,000 euros. The oil on canvas painting has a banyan tree with people under it and a river with many boats. It depicts a scene from Hung Yen Province.
“Phong Canh” (Landscape) by Nguyen Tri Minh was sold for 3,000 euros. Minh (1924-2010), who graduated valedictorian from the Gia Dinh School of Fine Arts, is famous for his paintings of landscapes in oil and watercolors.
A lacquer painting, “Lang Ben Song” (Village By the River), by Tran Van Ha (1911-1974) also sold for 3,000 euros. Ha, a native of Saigon, graduated from Indochina College of Fine Arts and was the founder of a lacquer company.
This oil on canvas painting “Canh Cho” (Market Scene) was sold for 2,800. According to Millon, its creator is unknown but it was completed on November 25, 1940. It has a hole, which is caused during storage.
“Buoi Sang O Hue” (Morning in Hue), an oil painting by French artist Henri Mege was sold for 1,500 euros.
Henri Mege (1904-1984) came to Indochina in 1931. His favorite topic was the Vietnamese countryside, especially around Hue. Between 1950 and 1956 he worked as a teacher at an art school in Saigon.
Oil on canvas work “Thuyen Cua Ngu Dan Tren Vinh” (Fishermen’s Boats in the Bay) was sold for 2,200 euros. Millon said that its creator too is unknown, but that it is a 20th-century work by a Vietnamese artist.
Another oil painting, also titled “Canh Cho” (Market Scene), went for 1,400 euros. Both the artist and date of creation are unknown. Based on the scenery and costumes, Millon believes it was set in northern Vietnam in the 20th century.
Lacquer on wood work “Tre Em va Trau” (Children and Buffalo) by Thai Van Ngon was sold for 1,000 euros. Ngon, born in 1920 in Vung Tau, graduated from the Gia Dinh School of Fine Arts. He was one of the most famous lacquer painters in the south in the 20th century.
Millon, established in 1928, has held many auctions of Vietnamese art pieces and antiques.
