An artisan in Thanh Hoa Province shares about his work on the world's biggest bronze drum, which was completed in late September.
The drum surface
The drum was cast, using the lost-wax method, by artisan Le Van Bay, and tens of other artisans, in the bronze casting village of Che Dong. Bay said on September 27 that it took them eight months to create the sculpture mould for the drum, which follows the Ngoc Lu drum-type.
11 tonnes of bronze were used to make the 2 meter high drum which has a diameter of 2.7 meters. Currently, 20 artisans are working on the patterns on the surface of the drum and the work is expected to be complete by November. The drum will be put on display before it is transferred to the customer.
Le Van Bay, the main artisan of the work, has studied bronze casting ever since he was a child.
"In 1999, I met with historian Duong Trung Quoc and other experts. We talked about bronze casting in the old days and a question was put on the table: 'Why is Thanh Hoa Province so famous for bronze casting, yet, no one thinks about casting a drum by the traditional methods these days?' So I started my research about ancient drums and in 2002, I was the first one in Thanh Hoa to cast successfully a bronze drum in Ngoc Lu style using the lost-wax method."
After Bay received an order to cast the biggest bronze drum in Southeast Asia in 2006, his business started to flourish and he has since made many bronze drums of many types in Hoang Ha, Dong Son, Quang Xuong and Ngoc Lu. The order to make the world's biggest bronze drum came to Bay early this year.
"I accepted the order and looked at it as a new challenge. We would be bound to face some troubles while sculpting the mould and making the patterns." he said.
Releasing the mold
After the liquid bronze was poured into the mould in September, it suddenly leaked out. "Because the mould is giant, we had to use a crane to pour the liquid bronze and couldn't control it properly. So we had to pour the liquid bronze in manually. When the mould was released, all of us screamed happily." Bay said. "The weight and the sound are the most important factors; then come the typical patterns of a Ngoc Lu Bronze Drum which depict the daily activities of the ancient Vietnamese."
It is estimated that it will take a month to polish the drum and make the patterns. Bay further said the bronze in Thanh Hoa is similar to the bronze used in ancient bronze drum casting. If he does not use this kind of bronze, it'd be difficult to cast a bronze drum by the lost-wax method. That's why this kind of bronze is also more expensive and hard to find. He wants to preserve the quality of bronze drums made in Thanh Hoa.
Cooling the drum
"My drums are only 60% as beautiful as the ancient drums, but I dare say they sound just as good." he said. "This will not be my last challenge I hope. When I received the order to cast the biggest bronze drum in Southeast Asia, I was excited and I had that feeling again when I received this order. Modern technology is needed when you make such a big drum but, still, the most important thing is the artisan's expertise, skill and devotion."
