Jean François Hubert, a French senior expert of leading auctioneers Christie's and Sotheby's, who has come to Vietnam every year over the past 20 years, noted that he has yet to see the country’s antique auction market potentials due to rampant forgery and complicated procedures.

Hubert, who has researched extensively on Vietnamese artifacts for over 20 years, said that though the country boasts a notable reservoir of antiques, local researchers’ work remains limited.

Like elsewhere, paradoxically in Western countries, fake antiques are also prevalent in Vietnam.

Hubert noted that in Vietnam, several pottery artisans in Bat Trang, stone sculptors in Da Nang and bronze casters in northern Thanh Hoa province can make fake antiques which look astoundingly genuine.

An expert on Champa culture once announced his discoveries which were initially considered groundbreaking but later were found out that they were all  fakes, he added.

The French expert noted that despite the colossal number of fine, unique antiques Vietnam boasts, he has yet to see local antique auction potentials.

“Like Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines, Vietnam hasn’t developed a system of official antique auctions, and local auctions mostly remain spontaneous and unprofessional. As auctioning is an excellent way to ensure the artifact’s genuineness and keep off cheating, rampant fakes are thus a major setback,” stressed Hubert.  

Complicated procedures involved also keep auctions from being held. Sources, insurance and dating of an antique must be verified before the auctioneer can fully characterise it and put it up for auction.

“As local fake and genuine artifacts are quite difficult to tell, local and foreign auctioneers are deterred from holding auctions in Vietnam. Fakers care much more about how much they earn than how much auctions would benefit the country. Besides, many are under the wrong conception that antique collecting is a pastime only,” Hubert noted.

He added that Christie’s and Sotheby’s considered entering the local market some 10 years ago but have just actually kicked off preliminary activities recently.

“It would take a long time to get complicated procedures done, and cope with rampant forgery,” he stressed.

Even world-leading auction firms, like Christie's and Sotheby's, have also encountered numerous problems in auctioning, the expert noted.

“Like France and Italy, Vietnam has high cultural standards. Vietnamese culture is as valuable as its mineral resources, so the country and its people should tap on it to become both culturally and financially rich,” Hubert further remarked.

According to the expert, who has had several notable research works on Vietnamese history, antiques, fine arts and culture, in the world market Vietnamese antiques have yet to earn as much attention as Vietnamese paintings.

He said he held several exhibitions and auctions of Vietnamese antiques in 1995 and 1996 but they didn’t fetch high prices.

The French expert said he is most impressed about Vietnamese hand-made pottery from the Ly-Tran dynasties (11th-14th century), including teapots, glazed terra-cotta jars, lime pots and large jars and vases which come in unique shapes, styles and decorative patterns. He believes that they are totally Vietnamese, though the Chinese do claim several of the pieces as theirs.