Vietnamese Đông Hồ Print on Giấy điệp paper – Cuddle
38 x 25.5cm
Đông Hồ Prints are originated from Đông Hồ village, about 35 km from Hanoi in the North of Vietnam. They are considered a fine reflection of traditional aesthetic value, social philosophies, and humanitarian desires. The traditional themes of Đông Hồ prints are good luck signs, historical figures, folk allegories, popular stories, and social commentaries. Elements of everyday life are as well integrated to express the thoughts and wishes of people.
Because these prints are mainly bought and displayed on the occasion of Tết (Lunar New Year celebration), contents are often humorous and optimistic with bright and powerful colors such as red, yellow, and white.
When printing pictures, Đông Hồ craftsmen use a special type of paper named giấy điệp. The paper is obtained in almost the same way as dó paper. The bark of dó tree, which normally is grown in Tuyên Quang Province, is soaked in water for months, then mixed with powders of seashells (sò điệp), which is the origin of the paper’s name, and glutinous rice to make sheets of paper.
Due to the elements of seashell and glutinous rice, điệp paper possesses an exotic sparkling hard background and is able to conserve the durability of colors
The colors of paint using in printing are refined from various kinds of natural materials which are easily found in Vietnam. For instance, the red color is taken from red gravel in Thiên Thai Mountain, while the black comes from charcoal of burned bamboo leaves.
For the printing stage, the woodblock is applied with paint and pressed on a sheet of paper like a stamp. The process is repeated with different colors until the craftsman is satisfied with the painting. One woodcut is for outline and several others are for each color printed, and they are carefully engraved by hand so the woodcuts can be preserved through generations.
The finished picture is covered with a layer of rice paste (hồ nếp) to strengthen the durability of its illustration and colors and afterwards dried under the sun.
