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HO CHI MINH C. David Thomas
Above Are the team of craftsmakers who made the lacquer and silk boxes. Top left: Mr. Thanh Dat, who made the wooden boxes from Vietnamese plywood and organic glue. Top right: Mrs. Vu Kim Thu applied and sanded the first twelve layers of lacquer. The first layer is applied with a coarse layer of silk to give the boxes added strength. After that, each of the eleven layers of a natural Vietnamese lacquer are applied by hand, carefully cured, and sanded by hand using extremely fine sandpaper and water before the next layer is applied. Bottom left: Mrs. Nguyen Kim Bac completed the final finishing of the boxes after the Ho Chi Minh was added in gold leaf. The final finishing is done using only finely ground carbon and bare hands and water. Bottom right: Two of the sisters, Duong Kieu Oanh and Duong Thanh Nhan, who made the silk covers. The silk was woven in Vietnam in a village near Hanoi.
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