Garden and outdoor range
Wholesale bronze garden pieces from Vietnam
Bronze urns, cranes and large vessels for garden centres and landscape buyers: what a Vietnamese foundry casts, how it ships and how it ages.
Garden centres and landscape buyers sourcing from Vietnam are usually shown pottery. Bronze is the other half of that trade and almost nobody offers it: cast urns, crane pairs, large lidded jars and figures, made at a village foundry in Dong Quy, Nam Truc. This is the outdoor part of our range — what we cast for outside, how each group crates, how the surface behaves in year one, and how far ahead a garden season order has to be placed.
What bronze pieces work outdoors?
Most of what we cast can go outside; the question is whether the piece was designed for it. Outdoor work needs a heavier, drainable base and a finish chosen to weather rather than hold a polish. Say at enquiry which pieces go outside.
- Crane pairs — the most recognisable Vietnamese bronze outdoors, and the piece landscape buyers ask for by shape without knowing the name.
- Urns and large lidded jars — planted, or standing empty at the end of a path.
- Large censers — temple courtyards, meditation gardens, cultural centres.
- Figures — devotional and animal, on a base cast for standing outside.
- Relief panels — wall-mounted, cast to a drawing.
How heavy are they, and what does that mean for freight?
Bronze is dense and buyers under-plan for it. The useful spec is the wall: 5 mm through the body, 8 mm where the piece carries load — base, joint, ankle. That is what you are paying for and what holds a piece upright in wind.
| Group | Size range | Weight | Crating | Lead time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crane pairs | Set against the censer they flank, or to your drawing | Ask for the weight table at quotation | Boxed as a pair, crated on a pallet | 21–30 days |
| Censers and urns | 40–70 cm standard; larger to order | A five-piece size-65 altar set runs about 36 kg as a reference point | Own box, lid packed separately | 21–30 days |
| Lidded jars and vessels | 20, 30 and 45 cm are the sizes that sell; larger to order | Ask for the weight table | Multiples per carton | Stock sizes sooner |
| Figures | Up to about 60 cm in one piece; 60–150 cm in sections | Doubling the height multiplies the bronze roughly eightfold | Own crate, bolted base | 21–30 days |
| Feature pieces | Above 150 cm, sections over an internal armature | Quoted per piece | Sections crated separately, hardware bagged | To order, drawing required |
Tell us what your receiving end can lift before we pack. Packing bronze for sea freight has how we crate and what goes on the packing list.
How is a garden piece based or anchored?
Three options, and the choice is yours before we cast, not after:
- Free-standing on a cast base — weight alone holds it. Fine for sheltered courtyards and pieces a customer may move.
- Drilled base for bolting — lugs or a drilled foot to your spacing, which needs the drawing before the mould goes in the sand.
- Set into a plinth — a spigot cast into the underside, sunk into stone or concrete.
Bolting patterns, plinth dimensions and wind loading are your installer’s decision, not ours. We cast what the drawing shows.
What happens to the surface in year one?
It changes, and that is the point of the material. A patinated piece outside moves toward a deeper, more broken surface as rain and sun work on it, and an unwaxed piece moves faster than a waxed one. Whether that reads as ageing or as neglect comes down to whether it is waxed on a schedule.
We publish no lifespan in years because we have not tested one and will not invent a figure your customer could hold you to. What weather does to each finish, and the waxing rhythm that keeps it looking intended, is in bronze outdoors: what weather does to the finish. Say it at the point of sale; it is the difference between a happy owner and a complaint in month eight.
Can a landscape project order matching sets?
Yes, with one rule: order the whole quantity in a single lot. Patina is a chemical reaction on a cast surface, not a paint code, so six urns lining one path should come from one finishing batch. We photograph complete sets before packing to check they agree.
The second rule is tolerance. Hand casting varies: 1–3 cm off nominal is normal and not a defect, more than 5 cm is a reject we remake. For a run of pieces at fixed centres, build that into the setting-out, not the purchase order.
Lead time for a garden season order
Casting is 21–30 days after drawing approval, and that clock starts at approval, not at enquiry. Add drawing rounds, sample approval if you want one, finishing days, and the sea leg. A buyer stocking for spring should be talking to us the previous autumn; stock sizes on decorative vessels move faster.
Frequently asked questions
Does bronze survive outdoors?
Yes — it weathers rather than fails, which is why bronze has stood in gardens for centuries. What it will not do is stay the colour it arrived in. Plan for that and wax on a schedule.
Do I need a concrete plinth?
Not always. Small and mid-size pieces stand on their own cast base. Anything tall or exposed needs a footing designed by your installer, and we cast the fixing to their drawing.
Will a piece crack in a freezing winter?
Bronze itself is not damaged by frost. The real risk is water standing inside a vessel and freezing, so open forms are cast with drainage or should be drained.
How far ahead must a landscape project order?
21–30 days casting after drawing approval, plus drawing rounds, finishing and sea freight. For a spring installation, start the previous autumn.
Can you cast to an architect’s drawing?
Yes. Send overall dimensions, the fixing detail and the finish, and we will say what becomes one piece and what becomes sections.
Planning a garden season or a landscape project? Send your list with sizes, quantities and where each piece will stand. We quote within two working days, with weights and crate sizes so you can price the freight yourself. Use request a quote, or message the workshop on WhatsApp or Zalo at +84 926 199 999. We will walk you round the floor on a video call; showrooms in Nam Dinh, Hanoi and Hai Phong.