29.05.2025. - 16.11.2025.
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE

Art of Viet Nam

The Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMA) collection of Vietnamese material culture is small, around 50 objects. Most of the items were acquired in the second half of the 20th century, with the last donation being received in 2024.

The majority of the collection is Dong Ho folk coloured woodblock prints that were mainly displayed during the Vietnamese New Year celebrations, therefore the works depict positive and humorous themes such as various good luck signs, national allegories, historical figures, and other popular stories. Through distinct scenes of everyday life, Dong Ho paintings embody the traditional Vietnamese aesthetic, values and wishes. The collection contains different versions and parts of the works demonstrated in the images on labels.

Viet Nam has a complex and multi-layered history, which is also reflected in the objects in the LNMA collection related to both the Chinese influence on their heritage and French colonialism – blue-and-white porcelain, mother-of-pearl inlays, opium pipes as a reference to the Opium Wars (1839–1842, 1856–1860), and a 1912 silk embroidery from Hanoi with direct traces of French colonialism.

In 2024, the museum received 17 objects as a diplomatic gift from the Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam in Sweden. These include a traditional Vietnamese male costume, a rice drum and Dong Ho coloured woodblock prints enriching the collection with missing pieces and showing diversity in the use of colour in the works.


Exhibition curator

Kristīne Milere
Exhibition Curator /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Graphic design

Kristīne Jansone
Visual Communication Specialist /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Exhibition construction

Emīls Eduards Murziņš, Kārlis Verners Baumanis /
Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Latvian National Museum of Art

Museum opening hours

Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 10.00–18.00
Wednesday: 10.00–18.00
Thursday: 10.00–18.00
Friday: 10.00–20.00
Saturday: 10.00–18.00
Sunday: 10.00–18.00

More information about the museum's opening hours here

Entrance ticket

1 ticket for an individual visit 
7,00 EUR      For adults 
3,50 EUR      For pupils, students, seniors and other discount groups*

* More information about the prices here

Venue

Art Museum RIGA BOURSE /
Asian Art Gallery (3rd floor)
Doma laukums 6, Riga

Related press releases

Duration 29.05.2025. - 16.11.2025.
Published 28.05.2025.