- It will be on permanent exhibit at the Fine Arts Museum in Ho Chi Minh City starting on September 15, to mark the 213th anniversary of Mexico's independence.
- The piece is meant as a powerful symbol of the extraordinary friendship between both countries: Alejandro Negrín
The Museum of Fine Arts in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mexican Embassy in Vietnam announce the reinauguration of a replica of one of the monumental Olmec heads to celebrate the 213th anniversary of Mexico's independence.
Starting on September 15, a copy of the Olmec head known as "The King" due to its majestic bearing, will be on permanent display in the museum. The original sculpture dates back more than 3,000 years and is one of a set of 17 monumental heads – all more than 2 meters high and weighing more than 2 tons – which are a notable expression of the Olmec culture, the oldest of the civilizations of Mexico and the American continent.
“The King” represents the rulers of the time and has Mesoamerican ethnic features such as a wide nose, thick lips and slanted eyes. The original sculpture is located in the Xalapa Anthropology Museum in Veracruz, Mexico.
The Mexican Embassy in Vietnam asked the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) for its expert opinion of the replica on display in the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts; the INAH ruled that it was an excellent replica.
The Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts has curated a special exhibit designed around the sculpture. It includes photos of the Mexican tropical jungle from the region where the original monumental head was found. The photos were provided by the Mexican Tourism Ministry.
The director of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, Nguyen Anh Minh, explained the importance of exhibiting the sculpture:
“The museum has the opportunity to display an Olmec head, a relic that is not only a symbol of artistic creativity, but also reflects the richness and diversity of the religious, social and cultural conceptions of an ancient civilization of Mexico.
“As an essential part of world heritage, the Olmec head helps us better understand the early stages of the development of civilization in this area,” he said.
Mexico’s ambassador to Vietnam, Alejandro Negrín, said that the reinauguration of the sculpture reflects the collaboration between the institutions of both countries and that shows the Vietnamese people an important part of Mexico’s history.
He said that replicas of similar Olmec heads – made with fiberglass, resins and pigments – were made in Mexico in the 1970s and that the head located in Ho Chi Minh City could have arrived there soon after diplomatic relations were established in 1975.
There are only two Mexican sculptures in Vietnam, said the ambassador. "Totem City Stories" by sculptor Paloma Torres, donated to the city of Da Nang in 2017, and the Olmec head, whose reinauguration is a powerful symbol of the extraordinary friendship between Mexico and Vietnam.
