Meet the Vietnamese artist who owns 1,000 rare musical instruments

The home of Vietnamese artist Duc Dau in Ho Chi Minh City is more like a museum than a private residence.

For years Duc has been collecting rare musical instruments from 54 local ethnic groups and he now owns around a thousand different pieces.

"National musical instruments are spiritual - the treasure of the nation to call heaven and earth," Duc says surrounded by his extraordinary collection.

"They have very sacred value and intangible heritage value," he adds.

One of the highlights of the private collection are the 300-year-old thunder drums form the Central Highlands ethnic minority.

"They are unique. They are not grafted on to each drum, but a whole tree trunk that is thousands of years old," Duc says proudly.

From every wall in his small home hang countless gongs, clay drums, pipes and bells - all beautiful artefacts which, Duc says, help to tell the colourful history of Vietnam.

"The more you collect, the more you can enjoy, see, hear and especially breathe the life of 54 ethnic groups," he says.

"It is a responsibility to collect, to preserve, not only the objects themselves but also something much more intangible," he concludes.