Vietnamese Gong and Beater
Object
Gong and beater
Object number
1999.28
Physical Description
Vietnamese gong and beater. Brass circular gong with central circular knobbled protrusion surrounded by two dragons marked into metal. Hangs from a synthetic plastic handle. The beater has a wooden shaft and block rubber end.
Associated Place
Vietnam (Place)
Dimension
diameter (Gong): 250mm
height (Gong): 60mm
height (Beater): 256mm
diameter: 40mm
height (Gong): 60mm
height (Beater): 256mm
diameter: 40mm
Exhibition Label
"This gong is very traditional in Vietnam. Gongs are sounded in temples in every village at festivals at harvest time or at the New Year, to pay respect to the ancestors, elders and to the protective deities. They are also used in both Buddhist and Catholic ceremonies. Gongs can be of many different sizes and each one has a different musical note.
I escaped from Communist Vietnam in 1979 and in the 1980s I set up An Viet, a community centre in the old public baths in Hackney, to help the Vietnamese community here. At that time there was nowhere to eat Vietnamese food so we started a restaurant for our Vietnamese elderly and then everybody came to eat there. It may have been the first Vietnamese restaurant in this country. Gongs were once used in Britain to tell the family the meal was ready to eat so it seems a suitable choice for me."
Chosen by Thanh Vu
An Viet Vietnamese Community
I escaped from Communist Vietnam in 1979 and in the 1980s I set up An Viet, a community centre in the old public baths in Hackney, to help the Vietnamese community here. At that time there was nowhere to eat Vietnamese food so we started a restaurant for our Vietnamese elderly and then everybody came to eat there. It may have been the first Vietnamese restaurant in this country. Gongs were once used in Britain to tell the family the meal was ready to eat so it seems a suitable choice for me."
Chosen by Thanh Vu
An Viet Vietnamese Community
On display?
No