Artisan creates cat sculptures to welcome in 2023

As one of the 12 Zodiac Animals, the cat symbolises longevity, peace, and prosperity.

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The image of the cat not only features in Vietnamese fairy tales, folk songs, and proverbs, but it is also used in decorative items and souvenirs.

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The special feature of the cat collection is how unique each item is, with every piece meticulously crafted from indigenous materials from Phat’s hometown.

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The cat figurines can be used for various purposes. For example, they can be used as a box, a flower vase, a table, or a chair, all of which makes the images of cats even dearer to art lovers.

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Through Phat’s great skill, a piece of wood undergoes many processing steps to become a sophisticated sculpture, from carving to dyeing and gold inlaying.

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Among the completed sculptures, the most time-consuming ones are collections of five solid wood chairs, which carry the image of cat, and one fish-shaped table.

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To date, Phat has completed work on more than 1,500 cat sculptures.

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He is expected to make 2,023 sculptures to serve customers.

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Painter and artisan Nguyen Tan Phat was born in 1983 in Hanoi’s Son Tay Town.

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Since graduating from Hanoi University of Fine Arts, he has won many awards, including first prize in the Hanoi handicraft design competitions in 2014 and 2019; and the top prize in the Vietnam Handicraft Design Contest 2020 with the “1010 Lacquered Buffalo Statues” project.

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In 2017, he was among the youngest artists honoured as a typical “Hanoi Artisan” by the Hanoi People's Committee.

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Artisan creates cat sculptures to welcome in 2023

VOV.VN - Ahead of the New Year artisan Nguyen Tan Phat of Duong Lam village in Son Tay town of Hanoi is busy with a project to make cat sculptures to welcome in the New Year, with 2023 being the Year of the Cat according to the Vietnamese zodiac calendar.