VietNamNet Bridge – The Vietnam History Museum in HCM City on Wednesday opened a unique exhibition: antiques from rivers in southern Vietnam.

The exhibition shows thousands of objects which were retrieved from hundreds of sites from rivers in southern provinces. The collection is plentiful, with objects made of materials such as, stone, pottery, bronze, gold, silver, and wood sourced from Vietnam, France, Spain, Mexico, Thailand, China and others. These antiques reveal the daily life, religious life and battles of people from that area.

Through the exhibition, visitors can learn interesting knowledge about various historical periods of the southern region. The life of southern people in any period was always linked to rivers. They built their houses on stilts on river banks. Rivers were their roads of trade and also the places where famous water battles took place.

The exhibition of antiques from southern rivers is held to celebrate the 310^th anniversary of the exploration of the south (1698-2008), with the cooperation of eight provincial museums and 12 collectors.

Some antiques on display at the exhibition:

Bracelet made in the 19th century (from Sa Dec River) and Spanish coin from the 18th century (Tien River)

Axe (Dong Nai River) and pot (Ben Luc River)

Axe of 2,000 years old (Dong Nai River) and ear-ring of the 20th century (Tra Vinh River)

Terra-cotta products.

Jars (Dong Nai and Saigon Rivers)	Bowls of the 18th and 19th centuries
Necklaces (Tien River)
Terra-cotta crab of the 19th century (Vam Co Dong River)	Terra-cotta lime-pot of the 17th-18th centuries.

Statue of the 12th and 13th centuries and French candlesticks of the 19th century (Tien River)

Ship debris and decorating pottery of the mid-20th century (Sa Dec River)

Terra-cotta relief of the 12th – 13th centuries	Pottery spittoon
Amulet of the 18th and 19th centuries (Tien River)

V. Tien