Son Dong statue carving village (Son Dong commune, Hoai Duc district, Hanoi) is famous for its traditional carving, statue carving, and making of worship items, along with sophisticated lacquer and gold plating techniques that are highly appreciated by domestic and foreign customers.
The Son Dong handicraft village was once lost during the years of the anti-American resistance war and the subsidy period, but was later restored by artisans Nguyen Chi Dau and Nguyen Duc Cuong in 1983. Mr. Nguyen Chi Dau, an artisan from the French colonial period, decided to restore the traditional craft by organizing wood carving and lacquer painting classes, with the aim of passing on the craft to his descendants. More than 30 students at that time have now become skilled craftsmen, owners of large production facilities in the village and are continuing to pass on the craft to the younger generation. Up to now, the village’s traditional craft continues from generation to generation.
To start making a statue, choosing wood is always the most important. The raw material for making a Buddha statue must be jackfruit wood because of its flexible, soft, and fine grain characteristics, thereby avoiding errors during carving. Jackfruit wood is also highly durable, less prone to cracking, and easy to carve. Jackfruit wood from provinces such as Phu Tho, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, etc. is the most trusted by Son Dong people. Only the core of the wood can be used for crafting. The technique of gilding and painting statues is also elaborate with many stages such as painting and then polishing, going through many times before gilding and silvering the statue according to the customer’s request. Making a statue is the most difficult, the craftsman must breathe life into the statue, it must have spirit and shape, etc. In addition, the gilded and painted worship products are also extremely sophisticated and beautiful through the skillful hands of Son Dong village craftsmen.
Currently, the whole commune has more than 4,000 workers working regularly in handicrafts, of which more than half are skilled workers and many skilled workers have been honored and awarded the title of artisan. Under the talented hands of the craftsmen of Son Dong village, many works of art with high sophistication and rich national identity have been created. The achievements that Son Dong craftsmen have achieved after many days and nights of hard work in the wood workshop are famous, not only throughout the country but also in many countries around the world.
The special thing about Son Dong is that if customers need to order any worship statue, the craftsmen here can do it right away without needing a model (available model). In addition, Son Dong people also carve portrait statues based on the customer’s portrait or full body photo, from which they carve a wooden statue similar to the photo. To do that, the craftsman must have experience, understand the stories, personalities, positions, and positions of each statue in the mind, and then breathe life into the works. The talented hands of Son Dong artisans have left their mark on cultural works in Hanoi such as: Temple of Literature, Khue Van Cac, Ngoc Son Temple, The Huc Bridge, One Pillar Pagoda… The precious profession in the hands of Son Dong craftsmen has also spread throughout the region, contributing to the restoration and preservation of many spiritual and cultural works. In recent years, many generations of young people from Son Dong craft village have come to big cities to open workshops and shops to introduce the village’s sculptures and handicrafts. Thereby, helping the already famous brand of worship items, wooden statues, and handicrafts of Son Dong to become even more well-known.
Son Dong craft village is now not only a simple craft village but has become a symbol, an attractive tourist destination for domestic and foreign visitors and a cultural beauty of the capital.