Bat Trang pottery losing its character?

 Some people visiting the Hanoi-based Bat Trang pottery village recently have been disappointed by the mixture of different styles of pottery being sold. Even Chinese products are being sold under the name of Bat Trang. Is Bat Trang losing its identity as a traditional pottery village of Vietnam?

 

A store with different styles of pottery in Bat Trang pottery market.

 

Mingled style

 

Those who have some knowledge about pottery can easily see the change in Bat Trang when they visit the village’s pottery market. Many stalls have strange products bearing the styles of other kinds of pottery, for example Chu Dau, Phu Lang, Cham, etc. The market also sells products imported from other provinces and from China.

 

Bat Trang pottery is famous for its manual production, which shows the creativeness of craftsmen and special skills handed down from generation to generation.

 

Based on the quality of materials, the shape formed by hand on turning tables, and the use of special enamels, Bat Trang pottery has its own special characteristics: a thick and sturdy body, milky and ivory white enamel.

 

As Bat Trang pottery is made by hand, there is not a massive quantity of products put out. Patterns on Bat Trang products incline towards dictation so clients highly praise Bat Trang pottery for its unique design.

 

Fired at a high temperature (over 1,000oC), Bat Trang pottery works have special enamels and are very durable. However, Bat Trang craftsmen have recently learnt new techniques: drawing patterns on products that are burnt cursorily and then firing the products again or using imported decals with ready-made patterns. These techniques make pottery products look good but they are not Bat Trang’s tradition.

 

Imitating other pottery styles is another problem, disagreed with by Bat Trang craftsmen.

 

A senior pottery maker in Bat Trang, Nguyen Tien Dat, said that some families producing and selling potteries in other styles can help diversify the numbers of products, but that is not art and creativeness.

 

Swapping brand for short-term gain

 

Neither local nor foreign customers like Bat Trang’s multi-styled products.

 

“If I had wanted Phu Lang pottery or another pottery style, I would not have come here to buy pottery. I wanted to come to Bat Trang to buy unique products of Bat Trang,” said Nguyen Anh Minh, a customer at the Bat Trang pottery market.

 

Pottery maker Nguyen Tien Dat said multi-styled pottery products have appeared in Bat Trang because some families want to diversify their products. Pottery products of other styles are produced on a massive scale (burned at 800oC) so their prices are lower than Bat Trang originals.

 

Another pottery craftsman, Nguyen Van Sao, said firing potteries at low temperature can help cut costs. Current pottery kilns use gas. At temperatures below 900oC, the fuel required is not great, but a lot of fuel is needed to reach temperatures of over 900oC. The production costs of pottery fired at lower temperatures is 40-50% lower than those of original Bat Trang products.

 

Sao said Bat Trang pottery is baked at a high temperature so it is durable and toxic chemicals in clay and enamel are eliminated.

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