The coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty (;

Hán-Nôm Spoken and written Vietnamese today uses the Latin script-based Vietnamese alphabet to represent native Vietnamese words (''thuần Việt''), Vietnamese words which are of Chinese origin (''Hán-Việt'', or Sino-Vietnamese), and other forei ...

: ), officially the national coat of arms of Đại Nam (; Hán-Nôm: ), was the national

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of the

Nguyễn dynasty The Nguyễn dynasty (, chữ Nôm: 茹阮, chữ Hán: 朝阮) was the last List of Vietnamese dynasties, Vietnamese dynasty, preceded by the Nguyễn lords and ruling unified Vietnam independently from 1802 until French protectorate in 1883 ...

adopted during the reign of the

Thành Thái Thành Thái (, vi-hantu, 成泰; 14 March 1879 – 20 March 1954) born Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Lân (阮福寶嶙), was the son of Vietnamese Emperor Dục Đức and Empress Dowager Từ Minh. He reigned as emperor for 18 years, from 1889 t ...

Emperor to be used when accepting

diplomatic missions A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

and foreign dignitaries at the Imperial City of

Huế Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...

. The coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty would later also be used as a personal symbol of its emperors replacing the characters with their reign era, with the latest of these variants being used in official correspondence during the

State of Vietnam The State of Vietnam (; chữ Hán: 國家越南; ) was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1949 until 1955, first as an associated state of the French Union and later as an independent state (from 20 July 1954 to 26 October 1955). The s ...

period.

Khải Định Khải Định (; chữ Hán: 啓定; born Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đảo; 8 October 1885 – 6 November 1925) was the 12th emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty in Vietnam, reigning from 1916 to 1925. His name at birth was Prince Nguyễn Phúc Bửu Đ ...

's imperial seal contained a version of the imperial coat of arms but with the six Chinese characters () on the scroll instead of the country's name. During the

Bảo Đại Bảo Đại (, vi-hantu, , , 22 October 191331 July 1997), born Nguyễn Phúc (Phước) Vĩnh Thụy (), was the 13th and final emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty, the last ruling dynasty of Vietnam. From 1926 to 1945, he was ''de jure'' em ...

period the scroll only contained two Chinese characters bearing the reign era of the emperor.

Description

sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...

per fess charged with a

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyru ...

, inscribed with two

traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are a standard set of Chinese character forms used to written Chinese, write Chinese languages. In Taiwan, the set of traditional characters is regulated by the Ministry of Education (Taiwan), Ministry of Educat ...

() and supported by a single five-clawed

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

. The dragon depicted on the coat of arms has five-claws, which is a sign of imperial authority in

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

and imperial Vietnam. During the Later Lê and Nguyễn dynasties four-clawed and three-clawed dragons were reserved for subjects as strict regulations existed in how many claws a dragon may have based on the status of the person, only the emperor and his government were allowed to use five-clawed dragons. The scroll depicts the Hán characters () as it was the (, ) of Vietnam during most of the Nguyễn dynasty period.

History

According to historians Trần Đức Anh Sơn and Philippe Trương, in 1903 emperor Thành Thái ordered from the Alfred Hache & Co. porcelain factories in

Vierzon Vierzon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Cher (department), Cher departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Geography A medium-sized town by the banks of the river Cher (river), Cher with some light industry and a ...

, Cher department and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

approximately 310 ceramic items, including four dining sets, four dessert sets, and four tea sets.Trung tâm Bảo tồn Di tích Cố Đô Huế, Huế Museum of Royal Fine Arts (Bảo tàng Cổ vật Cung đình Huế), ''The European ceramics at the Huế Royal Antiques Museum - Đồ gốm sứ Châu Âu tại Bảo tàng cổ vật cung đình Huế'' (2018), Publisher: NXB. Tổng hợp tp. Hồ Chí Minh. Pages: 60-62. (in

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

). The common feature of this set is the porcelain white colour, decorated with gold trim in the mouth, lid, inside of the dish, handles. Below the base are two titles: ''A H & C^o'' and ''1889 GD Diplôme d'Honneur Alfred Hache & CE'' (1889 was the year the Alfred Hache factory won the gold medal at the Paris exhibition, together with the ''

Manufacture nationale de Sèvres The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' () is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. ...

''). This set also features 116 items belonging to the (Đại Nam porcelains) which feature the national coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty, the highlight of these porcelain ware is that in the middle of each object the coat of arms is prominently displayed with the Hán characters () as a representative image of the nation to use in the international stage. During the Thành Thái period the Đại Nam porcelains were used to entertain foreign diplomats and delegations. In 1910, during the

Duy Tân Emperor Duy Tân (, vi-hantu, 維新, lit. "renovation"; 19 September 1900 – 26 December 1945), born Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh San, was the 11th emperor of the Nguyễn dynasty in Vietnam, who reigned for nine years between 1907 and 1916. Early c ...

period, the Tả Vu of the Cần Chánh Palace () was transformed into a European-style reception room to welcome

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an delegations, this is also the space for displaying many diplomatic gifts of the French government and Chinese delegations. As coats of arms were considered national symbols representing the

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

of a country in the international arena the usage of this "''Đại Nam'' coat of arms" was considered to be a radical expression of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

while the country was under French domination. On 14 August 1922, during his visit to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the

Emperor a set of " Chinese-style" tea set from the ''

'' in Paris. This set of tableware is today known as the porcelains and depict a different version of the coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty, featuring a grey scroll and a silver sword. This set is decorated with blue enamel and was used in the An Định Palace. In the 1941 book published by the Government-General of

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

, which features the

flags A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have ...

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

s, and other symbols of its constituent countries, a completely golden version of the coat of arms (attributed to the ''Empire of Annam'') is shown without any Hán characters on the scroll. The book also features an alternative coat of arms showing a five-clawed dragon positioned affronté, both heraldic symbols are listed in the book as the (coats of arms of Annam).

After 1945

After the abolition of the Nguyễn dynasty the coat of arms and its variants continued to be used by members of the

House of Nguyễn Phúc The House of Nguyễn Phúc, also known as the House of Nguyễn Phước, is a family and a branch of the surname Nguyễn in Vietnam. Its members were the Nguyễn lords (1558–1777, 1780–1802) and emperors of the Nguyễn dynasty (180 ...

; for example, the version was used on envelopes sent by Chief of State Bảo Đại and crown prince

Nguyễn Phúc Bảo Long Nguyễn (阮) (sometimes abbreviated as Ng̃) is the most common surname of the Vietnamese people. Outside of Vietnam, the surname is commonly rendered without diacritics as ''Nguyen''. By some estimates 30 to 39 percent of Vietnamese peopl ...

during the

period. In 1980 former emperor Bảo Đại used his personal variant as the cover of his autobiographic work published by Plon.

, ''S.M. Bao Daï, Le Dragon d'Annam'' (1980). Publisher: Plon. Cover page (in French). The coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty also appeared on the cover of the book ''The European ceramics at the Huế Royal Antiques Museum –'' about the

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

found in the Huế Museum of Royal Fine Arts published in 2018.

Misattribution

The exact origins of this tableware has been disputed, as R. de la Susse reported in 1913 that the tableware containing the was originally ordered from

during the

Đồng Khánh Đồng Khánh (, vi-hantu, 同慶, lit. "collective celebration"; 19 February 1864 – 28 January 1889), born Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Kỷ (阮福膺祺) or Nguyễn Phúc Ưng Đường (阮福膺禟), also known as Chánh Mông (正蒙), was the ...

period in the 1880s. Antique expert Philippe Trương disputes this claim and states that the reason the French deliberately misattributed the coat of arms was because the Thành Thái Emperor was disposed by the French authorities and to the French attributing the coat of arms to Đồng Khánh, who was more amicable towards the French, would

whitewash Whitewash, calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, asbestis or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk (calcium carbonate, CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes ...

the history of both the Đại Nam porcelains and the coat of arms. Philippe Trương debunked the earlier claims by stating that because the tableware bear the inscription ''A H & C^o'' that they could not have been created any earlier than 1903. This was because in 1903 Pierre-Emile Jullien had died leading to Alfred Hache changing the name of the workshop to ''Alfred Hache & Cie.'', the products were titled "Alfred Hache" and "A.H. & Cie". After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1914, the Hache workshop was dissolved. During the years 1889 and 1900 the Hache workshop was very popular and could compete with the National Sèvres workshop. Besides this, the Hache workshop at the time also had a strong export market, with Hache having been present on the Vietnamese market since around 1850 to 1872. The Huế Royal Antiques Museum also keeps a bowl of sauce with the title "A. Hache & Pepin Lehalleur" (1850–1872) and a large oval plate, titled "Hache, Jullien & Cie" (1885–1903). But the main reason that the Nguyễn dynasty court ordered from the Hache workshop was because they made blue and gold enamel tableware for the French Residency in Huế. Therefore, the Thành Thái Emperor had ordered Đại Nam porcelains at Alfred Hache factory.

Gallery

Variants

Personal coats of arms of emperors

File:Personal coat of arms of the Khải Định Emperor.svg, The personal coat of arms of the

Emperor. File:Coat of arms of Annam - S.M. Bao Daï, Le Dragon d'Annam (1980) Bảo Đại (保大).svg, The personal coat of arms of the

Emperor.

Military divisions

File:Coat of arms of Annam - Hymnes et pavillons d'Indochine (Hanoï - 1941) Bảo Đại (保大).svg, Insignia of the Imperial Guards. File:Insignia of the Imperial Guards of the Nguyễn Dynasty during the Bảo Đại period, with red characters.svg, Insignia of the Imperial Guards, with red characters.

Uses of the coat of arms and its variants

File:Seal of Emperor Khai Dinh NMVH EDAV n1.jpg, Khải Định's personal coat of arms on his French-style seal. File:Gouvernement de S.M. Bao Daï (1949-1955) UN... - Lot 90 - Lynda Trouvé.jpg, Official envelopes of the government of H.M. Bảo Đại during the

period.

Other coats of arms

Explanatory notes

References

Sources

* Hội đồng trị sự Nguyễn Phúc Tộc (1995), ''Nguyễn Phúc Tộc thế phả'', NXB. Thuận Hoả Huế. *

External links

The coat of arms can also be seen on Nguyễn Dynasty porcelain, as can be seen on the cover of the book "Đồ gốm sứ Châu Âu tại Bảo tàng cổ vật cung đình Huế" (The European ceramics at the Hue Royal Antiques Museum)

The coat of arms of the Nguyễn dynasty on ceramics from the Khải Định period
{{Nguyễn dynasty topics

Symbols of Nguyen dynasty Vietnamese heraldry