Metalwork is one of Việt Nam's most ancient crafts. Basic tools, weapons and ornaments were produced as long ago as 5,000 BCE, but the most significant developments of the prehistoric era took place during the latter years of the Bronze Age.

The so-called Đông Sơn culture (3rd-1st centuries BCE) developed sophisticated bronzecasting techniques, leading to the production of the remarkable Đông Sơn bronze drums. These drums have in fact been found throughout South East Asia and southern China, but since the finest specimens were discovered in Việt Nam the drums have become something of a Vietnamese cultural icon. The design inscribed upon the upper surface of the drum varies, but generally comprises an image of the sun with radiating beams surrounded by concentric circles decorated with geometric patterns and stylised images of birds, animals and human figures playing musical instruments, beating drums or pounding rice. The drums are thought to have been used during important festivals and ceremonies, especially those designed to evoke rain.

During this period too there developed the craft of casting ritual bronze gongs and bells, initially in what is now the central highland region of Việt Nam.

During the Lý and succeeding Trần periods (11th-14th centuries) Buddhism reached a peak, leading to the construction of many pagodas throughout the land. This in turn created a demand for the production of ritual bells, leading to a veritable boom in bronzecasting. The artistry of these ancient bells - many of which may still be seen today - was often exquisite. During this period the villages of Ngũ Xã near Thăng Long (Hà Nội) and Cầu Nôm in Hà Tây emerged as major centres for bronzecasting and by the early years of the later Lê kings (15th century) numerous metalworking guilds had been established in the capital.

Bronze production reached a pinnacle of excellence between the 17th and 19th centuries in central Việt Nam. The craft had long been practised at a basic level by ethnic minority groups in the nearby central highlands region, but its development in the vicinity of Huế may be traced back to early 17th century when several bronzecasting families from northern Việt Nam moved south, settling in Phước Kiều village, Điện Bàn District, Quảng Nam Province. Some of their number later moved to Phú Xuân (Huế), where the powerful Nguyễn aristocratic family ordered the establishment of metalworking villages on the opposite bank of the Hương River to cast weapons, utensils, plaques, bells, statues and urns for their palaces, at one point even bringing in a renowned Portuguese cannon-founder called João da Cruz to teach the villagers contemporary European techniques of metal processing and artillery casting. In 1802 Nguyễn Ánh took the throne as King Gia Long (1802-1819) transferring the royal capital from Thăng Long (Hà Nội) to Huế. Thereafter the bronzecasting foundry of Phường Đức with its five constituent hamlets Giang Đình, Giang Tiền, Trương Đồng, Bản Bộ and Kinh Nhơn - which, like Phước Kiều, are still active today - were to play a crucial role in the development of the new royal capital's heritage. Notable examples of bronzecasting sponsored by the Nguyễn family over a 200-year period include the cauldron in front of the Cần Chánh palace (1659-1684), the Nine Dynastic Urns (cửu đỉnh, 1835-1837) and the Nine Cannons (cửu vị thần công, 1803-1804) within Huế Citadel and the ritual gong (1677) and bell (1710) of the nearby Thiên Mụ Pagoda, Huế.

On the eve of the colonial period the south also emerged as an important centre for bronzecasting, thanks to the activities of leading workshops such as Sài Gòn's Tân Hòa Đông Foundry, which attracted fame throughout the 19th century for its bronze incense burners. It is no accident that in seeking to develop the art of bronzecasting for overseas markets the French chose to establish their first formal bronzecasting training course at the Decorative Arts School (Trường Mỹ nghệ, now the Đồng Nai College of Decorative Arts) which opened at Biên Hòa néar Sài Gòn in 1907. For a short period of time thereafter, bronzecasting was also included in the curriculum of the Thủ Dầu Một School of Indigenous Arts (Trường Mỹ nghệ Bản xứ Thủ Dầu Một, now the Bình Dương Secondary Technical School). It was later offered as a substantive subject of study at the National Elementary Decorative Arts School (Trường Sơ cấp Mỹ nghệ Quốc gia, forerunner of the Hà Nội University of Industrial Fine Art) when it opened in Hà Nội in 1920. As with other traditional Vietnamese crafts, bronze artefacts of all shapes and sizes were featured at numerous international expositions and exported widely overseas during the colonial period.

After 1945 the bronzecasting industry was increasingly retarded by the combined effects of rising production costs and diminishing demand. However, since the mid 1980s the increased production of statues and other ritual artefacts and the opening up of new overseas markets has provided bronzecasting areas such as Ngũ Xã, Phước Kiều and Phường Đức with a new, lucrative source of livelihood.