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he Champa Sculpture and Art
Museum in Danang displays and
stores thousands of antique ob-
jects discovered in the central
coast of Vietnam. 20 years ago, people
gathered many of these objects togeth-
er, but a photo taken in the early 20th
century shows altars and stone sculp-
tures arranged outdoors under a canopy
of big trees.
Champa sculptures have been col-
lected by French archaeologists and
their Vietnamese colleagues since the
late 19th century, especially staff of L’
École francais d’ Éxtrême Orient (the
French School of the Far East - EFEO).
In the early 20th century, some of the
objects were exported to France, while
others were moved to museums in Ha-
noi and Ho Chi Minh City. However, the
most valued pieces remain in Danang.
The idea of building a museum in
Danang began to brew in 1902 within
the EFEO. The first building was complet-
ed one year later by two French archi-
tects, Delaval and Auclair. Henri Parmen-
tier, archaeologist of the EFEO, played an
important role in setting up the project
and collecting Champa cultural objects.
The original architectural style has
been maintained, although two big ex-
tensions have been added. The first,
built from 1930 to 1936, was erect-
ed to house two exhibition rooms for
newly collected objects. Henri Parmen-
tier wanted the objects to be displayed
based on the place where they were
discovered. 1000sqm of the museum
was therefore divided into exhibition ar-
eas representing My Son, Tra Kieu, Dong
Duong, Thap Mam, Quang Nam, Quang
Ngai, Binh Dinh and Kontum corridors.
The second extension comprised
a new two storey building. It includes
2000sqm for display and more than
500sqm for storage and restoration. The
first floor exhibits objects which used to
be stored, and objects found after 1975.
The second floor showcases the objects
of contemporary Champa culture, in-
cluding costumes, musical instruments,
and Champa festival images.
Prior to 2007, the museum was
a part of Danang Museum. In July of
that year, the People’s Committee of
Danang recognised the Champa centre
as an independent organisation, under
the direct control of the Danang Depart-
ment of Culture, Sport and Tourism.
Recently, three objects in the mu-
seum have been recognised as national
treasures: the My Son E1 altar, Tra Kieu
altar and Tara Buddha statue.
The My Son E1 altar was found
in tower E1 of My Son holy land (Duy
Xuyen district, Quang Nam province) in
the 1902–1903 excavation led by Henri
Parmentier. The altar dates back to the
7th–8th centuries and is made of light
yellow sandstone on which people have
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NATIONAL CHAMPA
treasures
Discover national treasures at Danang’s Cham Museum
T