As one of the old traditional craft village of the old Thang Long, the craft of making gold leaf in Kieu Ky village (Gia Lam District, Hanoi) has been for more than 300 years. Not only being famous for the craft, artisans in Kieu Ky village are also well-known for their dedication and profession.
Famous artisan Le Ba Chung checks the recently made - gilded horizontal lacquered boards at Kieu Ky Temple.
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Famous artisan Le Ba Chung said, making gold leaf is the process of laminating gold by hand. This craft first was introduced in Kieu Ky village from the Le Dynasty, which is aimed to supply gold leaf for most of imperial palace’s work, such as the throne and horizontal lacquered boards.
The process of making Quy Leaf.
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This craft requires patience, technique and a windless working environment, as the craftsmen must be very careful. They will laminate gold bullion by special hammers continuously in 1 hour, so that the gold sheets get to a certain width and length. “1/10 tael of gold can be laminated into 980 sheets, covering 0.9sq.m of area. As of now no industry in the world can do this, including of Japan” – Mr. Chung proudly said.
The gold bullion is laminated by special hammers continuously in 1 hour, so that the gold sheets get to a certain width and length.
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To get to the final product, it would take more than 40 phases. Each phase has its own complexity; such as pine resin is mixed with gelatin glue processed from buffalo skin. The mixture is then mixed with special raw paper pulp, then cut cut into pieces. From the gold or silver bullion, craftsmen will laminate into thin and long gold sheet with width of 1cm and cut into rectangular shape of 1 sq.cm, which then placed in a holder made of 4sq.cm rice paper pieces (called “la Quy” or Quy leaf), which is used to make Dong Ho fold paintings. The paper is mixed with ink to help make the Quy leaf firm and solid using the above mixture. The last stage of the work is to take the gold sheets out of the “molds”, but this is by no means a simple task, as only a gentle breath would be enough to blow them away.
Gilded buddha statues.
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From famous and old architectures such as ancient capital of Hue, Temple of Literature, and other temples and pagodas, to new modern architentures such as Hanoi Opera House, National Assembly, National Convention Center, visitors can feel the presence of and value of Kieu Ky gold leaf. Despite the development of modern technology, traditional craft from Kieu Ky village is invaluable.
Different to other traditional craft villages of the old Thang Long, The ancestor of the gold lamination in Kieu Ky Village known to be Nguyen Quy Tri, who passed the craft down to Kieu Ky locals. According to the elders in Kieu Ky village, the know-how of making gold leaf is of the secret can cannot be taught to people outside the village. This has become the pride of Kieu Ky village, so this is the only place where the sheets are made from pure gold and silver.