Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1980

Date Range To

1990

Materials

WOOD, STONE (QUARTZ?)

No. Pieces

1

Height

11.2

Length

16.3

Width

6.8

Description

BLACK LACQUERED WOOD CARVING. CONSISTS OF ADULT AND BABY WATER BUFFALO, BOTH MOUNTED WITH NAILS TO BASE. SITTING ON ADULT BUFFALO IS FIGURE CARVED FROM GOLD COLOURED GEMSTONE, PLAYING FLUTE. DISC-LIKE HAT HELD IN PLACE BY FISHING LINE TIED AROUND FLUTE.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

History

GIVEN TO DONOR BY PARENTS IN VIETNAM. DAT TRAN WAS BORN IN HUE, AND HIS WIFE GIANG MAC, WAS BORN IN PHAN THIET, VIETNAM. BOTH CAME TO CANADA INDIVIDUALLY IN 1979 AS REFUGEES, AND MET AT A WEDDING IN LETHBRIDGE, AND WERE LATER MARRIED ON JULY 1, 1989. TOGETHER THEY OPENED THE SAIGONESE RESTAURANT EIGHT YEARS AGO, THE ONLY AUTHENTIC VIETMANESE RESTAURANT IN LETHBRIDGE. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DONOR, DAT TRAN, WAS DEVELOPED FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH TRAN IN THE FEBRUARY 7, 1992 ISSUE OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD. TRAN WAS BORN IN 1958 IN HUE, VIETNAM, AND HIS FATHER WAS IN THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE MILITARY. AS A RESULT OF HIS FATHER'S MILITARY AFFILIATION, THE FAMILY WAS PERSECUTED BY THE NORTH VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT WHEN THEY SEIZED CONTROL OF THE SOUTH IN 1975. TRAN WAS FORCED TO LEAVE HIS SCHOOLING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAIGON, AND THE FAMILY WAS CLOSELY WATCHED BY THE GOVERNMENT. IN 1979, TRAN AND SOME FRIENDS FOUND AN ORGANIZATION WILLING TO HELP THEM ESCAPE THE COUNTRY BY BOAT IF THEY PAID FOR THE COST OF FUEL AND FOOD. 77 PEOPLE SPENT THREE DAYS AND FOUR NIGHTS ABOARD A 12-METRE BOAT UNTIL THE BOAT BEGAN TO LEAK AND THEY WERE RESCUED BY A WEST GERMAN SHIP. THEY WERE TAKEN TO A REFUGEE CAMP IN MALAYSIA, HOUSING OVER 15,000 VIETNAMESE, WHERE TRAN WAITED FOR THREE MONTHS BEFORE RECEIVING HIS PLACEMENT IN CANADA. TRAN'S DESIGNATED CITY WAS LETHBRIDGE, WHERE HE WOULD MEET HIS FUTURE WIFE, GIANG MAC, ALSO A VIETNAMESE REFUGEE. THE COUPLE HAVE BEEN PART OWNERS AND OPERATORS OF THE SAIGONESE RESTAURANT SINCE 1990. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR HARDCOPY OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLE.

Catalogue Number

P19970090002

Acquisition Date

1997-09

Collection

Museum

Less detail