Craft village · Đồ gỗ mỹ nghệ · Fine woodwork

Đồng Kỵ

Làng gỗ Đồng Kỵ — the carvers' village on the road to Bắc Ninh

Twenty kilometres north of Hà Nội, Đồng Kỵ is loud with chisels. The village carved for the temples and communal houses of Bắc Ninh for two centuries, and in the last fifty years has become the delta's furniture village: ironwood, rosewood and the slow joinery that uses no nails.

Wide view of a Đồng Kỵ carving workshop, ironwood planks and half-carved doors, shavings on the floor, light through the open front, carved hardwood village, Red River Delta, Vietnam

“A joint should fit so well the wood forgets it was two pieces.”

Twenty kilometres north of Hà Nội, Đồng Kỵ is loud with chisels. The village carved for the temples and communal houses of Bắc Ninh for two centuries, and in the last fifty years has become the delta's furniture village: ironwood, rosewood and the slow joinery that uses no nails.

Craft: Carved hardwoodGỗ mỹ nghệ
Where: Từ Sơn, Bắc Ninh20 km from Hà Nội
Practised since: c. 18th centuryFrom temple carving to furniture
Material: Ironwood & rosewoodJoined without nails
On LangSoul: 1 artisan5 works

01 — The story

Two centuries of the chisel

The carvers of Đồng Kỵ learned on the altars of Bắc Ninh. Their tables are temple work brought down to the height of a chair.

Archive black-and-white photograph from the mid-twentieth century, faded and grainy: carving a door in Đồng Kỵ, carved hardwood, villagers in simple work clothes, old brick and timber

The carvers of Đồng Kỵ learned on the altars of Bắc Ninh. Their tables are temple work brought down to the height of a chair.

The craft came with the communal houses — the great timber halls of the northern villages, whose beams and doors were carved by itinerant masters. Đồng Kỵ’s families settled and kept the trade; when the halls stopped being built, they turned to furniture.

Much of the village now works at scale for the Chinese market. A few workshops keep to the slow way: timber dried for years, joints cut to fit without glue or nails, carving that follows the grain. We carry pieces from those workshops.

A carving chisel resting on a half-finished relief in dark wood, in a Đồng Kỵ carving workshop, ironwood and rosewood planks, chisels and shavings, oiled dark grain, timber-yard light

A chisel paring a mortise in dark hardwood, shavings curling, in a Đồng Kỵ carving workshop, ironwood and rosewood planks, chisels and shavings, oiled dark grain, timber-yard light

02 — The technique

What makes Đồng Kỵ woodwork

Time in the timber yard, and joints that will outlast the house.

I

Timber dried for years

Ironwood and rosewood are stacked under cover for two or three years before a chisel touches them.

II

Joined without nails

Mortise, tenon and wedge. A Đồng Kỵ table can be knocked apart and rebuilt by its grandchildren.

III

Carved with the grain

Relief carving follows the figure of the wood rather than fighting it.

IV

Oiled, not lacquered

The surface is finished with oil and wax so the wood can keep moving with the seasons.

Words you will meet

Gỗ

Wood.

Gỗ lim

Ironwood, the dense dark timber of temple pillars.

Gỗ trắc

Rosewood.

Mộng

The joint — mortise and tenon.

04 — Works from Đồng Kỵ

Five works from the village

All fine woodwork works

Reading table, carved ironwood

Đồng Kỵ workshop

$2,400

Lidded box, carved rosewood

Đồng Kỵ workshop

$420

Low stool, carved ironwood

Đồng Kỵ workshop

$620

Desk tray, rosewood

Đồng Kỵ workshop

$260

All fine woodwork works

Map · Hà Nội → Đồng Kỵ

05 — Visiting

Come and see a joint cut

We take small groups to Đồng Kỵ a few times a season: a morning in a carving workshop, lunch in the village, and a walk through the timber yards. Collectors who have acquired a work from the village visit as our guests.

From Hà Nội: About 40 minutes by car
Best season: October to April
Group size: Six people at most

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