The former hair designer now boasts a sizeable collection that includes five objects from the residences of King Thanh Thai (1879-1954) and King Tu Duc (1829-1883).

Thanh Thai’s erstwhile belongings are a large armchair, an ornate cabinet and a wooden box with a nacre-inlaid lid, while Tu Duc unwittingly contributed a gilded peach-shaped censer and a Lien Tho.

A censer is any vessel for burning incense and comes in all shapes and sizes; a Lien Tho is a flat piece of wood on which poems are carved.

“It’s hard to assess the value of my collection because those things came from royal palaces. When I bought them, they cost some 300-350 taels of gold,” said Phuc.

His biggest outlay was 100 taels of gold (1tael = US$1,300) and went to buy an incense burner once owned by King Minh Mang (1791-1841).

Phuc said he bought most of his antiques from a 105-year-old woman named Ton Nu Kha Ai, who told him about their origin and subsequent history, and asked that he not profit by trading them.

“So, if I sell something in my collection, I have to give the money to charity,” Phuc said.

Phuc Nguyen’s collection, which also includes tables used by French royalty and a couple of green vases, is on public display at his NaDam Spa, 12/29/1 National Road No. 12, Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Reported by Da Ly