Upcoming Harringtons Lifestyle Auction

I do not, as a principle, advertise or practice unethical blogging just to get commissions or mileage.  I write what I want to write, and still keep my anonymity.  However, if there's an upcoming event that involves antiques, I think it's good to help the industry out in whatever little way.  I asked permission first if it was OK to post this and they emailed that it was so.

Harringtons Lifestyle Auction would like to invite you to its upcoming auction "A Touch of European History" on July 9, 2016 at 2:00pm.

Exquisite Vintage Furniture and Artworks from various countries of Europe will be up for auction.

Also included to be auction at NO RESERVE PRICE are ARTWORKS and COLLECTIBLES from an Iconic 5-star Hotel in Makati.

Preview and Registration on going. 

For more information call 02-5486986 / 0916-4674321

Antique Animal Pottery from Precolonial Philippines

My dealer brought this item (along with suspiciously done Ming Blue & White plates) just today. He left them for my perusal since I was not at home.  This is not yet paid for but I'll still post it, just in case the deal won't fall through.

This I believe is a funerary ceramic or pottery, bull or ox in form, which when struck gives of a metallic sound (high firing temperature?), and looks very well made considering the creative output of precolonial natives in the Philippines.  Though I wouldn't discount a local potter, I suspect this would be from the Tang or even Han dynasty. I could very well be wrong. Or maybe this was included with the trade ceramics brought over from Dvaravati empire in modern day Thailand.

Although the item has been repaired by a local restorer, it maintains its luster of being a rare and collectible piece of precolonial ceramic.

Perhaps a fake? Maybe. I'll try to get this for cheap since the guy would probably try to convince me that this is the rarest artifact from the Philippine Iron Age.  It has the craftsmanship of an artisan, but executed for a more utilitarian reason. No glaze. Was this for the children of the datus or merely a cheap decor of the time?

Sometimes, I just wish there are more local Philippine books on the matter. Then again, the probable reason why we don't have many scholarly treatises on Filipino archaeology is because the sites are already damaged, looted and destroyed by the time experts arrive on the field similar to Egyptian tombs.  Who's to blame but the pressures of economics and the lust for the rare.  And I'm sure those who are in the corridors of power are themselves avid collectors of such ceramics.

Nonetheless, without knowledge, we tend to give in to the Fates. So, to buy or not to buy?

Ambeth Ocampo on Prehistoric Ceramics

Articles on Philippine ceramics are hard to come by. Either they are written solely for the enjoyment of the academe or for collectors.  It's quite refreshing to see that historians like our very own Ambeth Ocampo delve into ceramics. As a reader, it really pays to elevate this hobby by means of writing. It gives people direction with perspectives from other authors. It sheds light into an otherwise esoteric affair. Mr. Ocampo wrote this for the Philippine Daily Inquirer:

A story prehistoric ceramics tell

As an avid collector of antiques since the 1970s, it was inevitable that Rosita Arcenas ended up with over 500 pieces of Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics, mostly excavated in the Philippines. The pleasing shapes and varied hues lent color to her home. Now well-curated in the University of San Carlos Museum in Cebu, the ceramics have become tangible proof of a lively maritime trade between the Philippines and its neighbors from the 11th through the 19th centuries. Most of these ceramics predate the arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521; these pots are prehistoric, though not so far back to the time of dinosaurs and cavemen; rather, these ceramics were made in the period before written records came to existence in the Philippines.

History is a narrative, and the story of these ceramics is the same as those told in the ceramic galleries of the National Museum and by the Roberto Villanueva Collection in the Ayala Museum—stories from artifacts rather than in books and archival manuscripts. Part of our nation’s story comes from old pots that illustrate trade and civilization in these islands long before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century. Many of these pots are older than the name “Filipinas” such that the pioneering prehistorian H. Otley Beyer defined the 10th to early 16th centuries as a period different from the earlier Stone Age and Iron Age. Based on his ceramic finds, he aptly described this time as “the Philippines in the Porcelain Age.”

Arab and Chinese traders encountered small seafaring communities by the coasts and waterways of the Philippine archipelago in the 9th century. These communities were headed by chiefs, and varied in size and political complexity. Trade was conducted through barter; silk, iron, parasols, glass and porcelain brought by the Chinese were exchanged for the Filipinos’ pearls, tortoise shell, yellow wax, betel nut, abaca fabric, cotton and provisions of fresh water, meat, vegetable and fruit for their onward journey.

Traces of this trade are the ceramics that, in our museums, most people find boring because it seems that once you have seen one blue-and-white Ming plate, you have seen them all. But if you take the time to give these ceramics a second look you will realize that the high-fired imported ceramics are different from low-fired Philippine earthenware; these are impermeable, glazed, ornamented with iron spots or with freely painted auspicious symbols in Chinese or Tibetan characters, as well as with images of pine, prunus, peach, twin, fish, twin Mandarin ducks, dragon chasing pearl, phoenix, and frolicking Fu dogs. These images meant something to the Chinese; what did they come to mean to the early Filipinos? Some high-fired plates and bowls, ringing like a bell when flicked with a finger, came to be used for rituals because they were believed to possess magic qualities.

In time, and because of their design and utility, these imported ceramics became prestige objects that proclaimed their owner’s wealth and status. When Magellan arrived in Cebu, he and his men were served food on porcelain plates.

Most of the ceramics were found in graves, obviously placed there as furniture the soul could bring to the afterlife. Small dishes, globular jarlets and other ceramics accompanied the dead, and of these some of the most prized, then and now, are the miniatures: square jarlets with dragons on the handles; globular jarlets with two ears, or another with lobes that resemble the  balimbing  fruit. These 14th-century Yuan “balimbing jarlets” that come in plain white  qingbai  glaze, or white with brown iron spots, or with floral designs in cobalt blue or underglaze red, are significant because these were not found in China. They were found only in archeological sites in the Philippines and parts of Indonesia, which suggests that they were made specially for export to the Southeast Asian market.

Also prized by collectors are small ceramic pieces of boys with water buffalo. These were used as water droppers on scholars’ tables where water was added to an ink stone on which ink sticks were ground to produce the ink for Chinese calligraphy. What ancient Filipinos used these jarlets and water droppers for, aside from grave furniture, remains a mystery.

Then there are elegant ewers in the shape of the auspicious double gourd with graceful handles in the form of dragons. They come in three types: white qingbai glaze, white qingbai glaze with brown iron spots, or white qingbai glaze painted with floral sprays in cobalt blue. Used as wine vessels in China, what were they used for in the Philippines? A simpler and smaller version of these can be seen in Chinese restaurants today, as droppers for soy sauce or vinegar. In a Filipino home these can be used as vessels for patis.

When the Filipinos were converted to Christianity, their burial practices changed. They were buried on consecrated ground near churches and towns. Porcelain and other pabaon were no longer placed in graves or coffins. But old habits die hard, and in the 21st century Filipinos still practice a form of pabaon by throwing flowers into the grave of loved ones at the time of burial; or by leaving a cut rosary, paper currency, or other keepsakes in the coffin to accompany the dead in the afterlife.

Next time you get bored with a museum display of ancient pots, give them a second look and imagine how they must have figured in our prehistory and how they figure in our lives today.

Read more: http://opinion.inquirer.net/94402/story-prehistoric-ceramics-tell

Antique Philippine Map: Bellin

 
Any map about the Philippines is highly collectible, well especially if you're living in this beloved isles.  During the 17-19th centuries, British, French, German and Dutch explorers and colonizers had been busy building their empires, and with them, cartographers had also been busy producing maps of their colonies.  These northern Europeans have already eclipsed Spain and Portugal, which is perhaps why a lot of Philippine maps were in a language other than Spanish. Names like Bellin, Moll, Mallet, Justus Perthes, etc., pop up from time to time when looking for antiquarian maps especially in Ebay.  Sometimes you shall see an Algue, but that's it.

The ones I purchased online were made by Bellin. I started collecting Asian maps, the earlier the better. No Philippine map then was reasonably priced. A lot of sellers really put such a high premium on these paper relics. I do not know the exact reason why the Philippines is way more expensive than say, that of Bali or Japan.  Is it because demand is greater than the supply? Or is it because there are many Filipino collectors stripping available supply thus, driving prices sky high?

These maps are actually inserts of travel books where they based their cartographic accuracy either on previously published maps (e.g. Bellin on Murillo Velarde map), or with geographic descriptions by recently arrived explorers.

Anyhow, one fateful day, I spotted a pair of Philippine Bellin maps for sale online for less than $80. I was shocked and immediately bought it.  I was on collectors' "cloud nine", the state of being exactly opposite of buyer's remorse.  Though my budget restricts me from owning the original Velarde, the Bellin suffices- especially that the island of St. Jean/John was erroneously copied.

The map was like a holy grail for me. Elusive, expensive, and fragile. I was thinking of having it framed, but then again, all the framers here do not have acid-free archival matting and UV protective glass. If I do this in the US, it may cost me around $60 a frame. Yikes! I haven't framed them yet though. I just take them out for a quick appreciation then return them back to their envelopes. And dream of another day of having them framed.

Santos Series 02: Santo Nino

Sto. Ninos, as carved wooden antiques, are hard to come by.  This one has been with my family since our house was built.  Though the texture of the carving is somewhat similar to 19th century, I suspect this was done during before or right after the war.  The face (cara) and both hands are finely made by skilled artisans who I suspect were under the famous Maximo Vicente school.  The cape and the base is of heavy dark wood probably ironwood.  This is all speculation and intuition.

I won't probably sell this for sentimental reason since this piece reminds me of family.  There are just some objects that you want to cherish because it reminds you of a period in life where happiness and love prevailed. 

A Thought on Precolonial Philippine Pottery

I was going through this blog and I noticed that the most-read entry was about the iron age/pre-colonial Philippine funerary pottery.  I guess a lot of people are indeed interested in something so mysterious and so unknown.

Back in school, Philippine history curriculum would generally start during the era of Magellan and Pigafetta as if their arrival heralded our own origins.  Such a notion belies the fact that we do have a civilization before the Spaniards- one that has a written language in the form of the baybayin script and a well-developed artistic expression. They simply disappeared when Spanish priests burned almost all of the remaining objects like anitos and bamboo manuscripts.  Anyhow, it's simply sad that we as a nation has passively chosen to exclude our pre-colonial past- a timeline that may well have extended back to the days of the Srivijayan and Madjapahit empires.

These pottery, excavated from the islands of the interior, are a stark reminder of that lost civilization, one that predates the the Age of Contact. They are here with us now because they can neither degrade nor decompose with the march of time.   Yet, even if they do see the light of day with a handful of collectors scrambling over them, not a lot of Filipinos covet them.  Maybe because they look ordinary and utilitarian as compared with the gorgeous Swatow wares from China or the green celadon plates from Thailand.  Really, which of the two would scream Old Rich? A roomful of Blue & White wares or a roomful of precolonial pottery?

 A lot of collectors are familiar with the Age of Contact because there are many objects imported from ceramic-producing states like China, Annam, and Siam. Hence, the quantity helped fuel the passion in this field for they have been quite accessible.

The irony with collectors is that we tend to celebrate, study and analyze the excavated ceramic finds of imported wares and spout off expert opinions on mundane details like their ceramic glazes as if we were Roxanna Brown, but we are faced with a blank wall if we are asked about lifestyle and history of the native Filipinos who used them.  Moreso, we collectors are faced with a bigger blank wall when faced with indigenous precolonial iron-age pottery (apart from the Maitum anthropomorphic artifacts).  These pots should have been given a larger share of attention because these are evidence of our early Philippine civilization. These are our own, not imported from some highly developed civilization. Hence, they must be studied intensively.   There are several highly specialized books on its archaeology like the recently published tome on the Lemery diggings. Seriously, it would take more than this handful of books to spark a frenzy, or at least an interest, among newbie antique collectors. Seriously people.

Harringtons Lifestyle Auction - June 2015

Harringtons Lifestyle Auction invites you to an afternoon of Fine Arts and Collectibles.  Featuring paintings by some of our top Filipino Artists, Unique Memorabilias, Sculpture, Furniture, Watches and Antiquities. 

The event promises a wide assortment of items to find and treasure. 

Preview and Registration on going

Auction:  June 27 at 1:00pm onwards

Jose Algue's Atlas de Filipinas

From the blurb of Lot.847 from Old World Auctions, it describes the atlas as such:

 A hard to find, superbly detailed and beautifully colored atlas with two title pages, the first in Spanish; "Atlas de Filipinas Coleccion de 30 Mapas" with attribution to Jose Algue (Director del Observatorio de Manila), and the second, with an introduction by Henry S. Pritchett, is titled "Atlas of the Philippine Islands", and is GPO Special Publication No. 3. With four pages of tables followed by an extensive 17 page index of place names, this example is a mine of information. There are 30 full-page maps published by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, but printed with Spanish titles, and each is presented in eye-catching full color.

The nice thing about catalogs is that the level of description is quite high. Yes, the same atlas can fetch as much as $450 in some auction houses and local collectors love to disbound it and sell individual maps for such a high price. Know that such colonial paper artifacts are quite rare to come by in its native Philippines because of the humidity, heat, mildew that can wreck a perfectly nice map.  Also, loss brought about by war and disinterest added to the scarcity of the atlas.  This is why I cannot fault sellers making a killing by selling a single map to someone from that area.  I saw someone from Ebay trying to sell a piece for $35-50.  My golly. So the best bet is to get it overseas.

I got a couple copies of the atlas in such a poor state. However, being in a poor state does not mean the maps are affected.  There may be scuffings on the cover, a slight waterstain on the frontispiece and discoloration on the back but the maps are all immaculately preserved.  Do not bother buying a full set if there are foxings, mildews or crap affecting the maps themselves. I thinks it's worth next to nothing. Get one that's clean.

 I love this atlas acutally. Thank you, Fr. Algue for the effort.  All the pieces are collectible, scarce but not rare, and since they are in Spanish (though published in the US), they lend a nice Hispanic colonial air to it. 

Looking through the maps, one would see towns and villages that we all knew.  I have looked at the Cavite area and some villages that were printed on the map have already been gobbled up by towns rendering them quasi-invisible. Also you will enjoy looking at the Spanish routes and roads especially at the absence of such in the Cordillera region.  You will learn the old names of provinces that have been broken up or renamed.  This atlas is such a joy to read even if half of it is already lost to the ashes of history.

If you're into Filipiniana, this is a must in your collection.

A Celadon Jarlet

This small celadon jarlet is one of many found here in South East Asia. They are reasonably priced and highly collectible.They were export pieces previously laden with medicines, balms and expensive oils. According to the writings of Roxanna M. Brown and the artifacts of Sten Sjostrand, these ceramics were exported from Southern China during the Song to the Interregnum period. According to Sten Sjostrand in his site, he stated that “their low-fired celadon glaze consists of 1.2-1.5% iron oxides that turn green during reduction-atmosphere firing.  If sufficient temperature was not achieved, the iron oxide would accumulate on the surface in the form of iron crystals.” Such examples turned out in vast quantities in Sjostrand’s salvage of the Royal Nanhai wreck (1400-1500). And here in the Philippines, they're quite common among collectors and antique shops.

As for the retail price? Cheap to quite reasonable. Collectivity? Highly. Imagine if you have a wall or cabinet full of these little morsels of history.  It would definitely be the highlight of your home.

Antique Decanters

As long as I could remember, my mother has these three antique glass decanters. The other two I purchased from my local antique dealer.  Anyway, these wine/sherry decanters are a mystery to me.  Are they Spanish in origin? Central European perhaps? The green one is in fact uranium glass. I checked it with a portable black light. Pity it has a hole on the side.

One (see 1st photo) has a YOMEIGO marking on the base. It must have been a Japanese manufacturer from the Taisho or Showa period.  The other one has a HERMANN - HAMBURG mark presumably Germanic in origin.

These bottles must have been imported during the end of the 19th century all the way to the 1950s, many from the prewar period.  I surmise these were the tipple containers of choice for the bourgeoisie (in Filipino, "burgis") especially during the heyday of the American colonial period (1898-1946) wherein the middle and upper class Filipinos were able to enjoy imported goods in such unhindered quantities.

If you can imagine hacienderos in tuxedos in their Art Deco manors quaffing their vinos and brandy de jerez and smoking Tabacalera cigars during the annual cotillion watching Filipinas in butterfly-sleeved ternos, then you can imagine how these decanters were used during those times. Think Oro, Plata, Mata.

This is the uranium decanter in the collection.  This must have been produced during the 20s and 30s during the era of Depression glass because uranium or vaseline glass virtually disappeared at the start of WWII.

As for the value of these decanters, there's no hard and fast rule since there's barely a club that specializes on this type of artifact. If anyone knows, or would like to offer theirs, send me an email. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

A Duo of Chinese Brownwares

 

 A few weeks ago, I spotted a couple of Chinese brownwares in a non-descript antique store here in my city.  I knew they were exhibited in a group show a few months back because I recognized them quite easily.  I guess they were not fast movers as compared to modern reproductions and Ming Blue and White wares.  These were more humble in form but contemporary in bearing.  Having blue and whites are great, but they exude an atmosphere of past generations meaning it’s kind of old school and “la Buena familia”.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Ming blue and white export ware, except having so many would make your house look like an old spinster’s closet.  As for brown ware, these have a utilitarian appeal.  Monochromatic in palette, simple in design and yet collecting these would make any kitchen or sala (living or receiving room) look contemporary.  If you have an apartment, they would look stunning especially if you have a grouping of small pieces be they jarlets, bowls or kendis.  However, if you want a more sophisticated but muted effect, I would suggest you delve into Celadon wares.

 I worked out a deal with the owner and after receiving discounts I was able to take home these two items.  The jar in question is small brown-glazed artifact, with a rounded rim, with four lugs on the jar’s shoulder.  The body is of course grey stoneware and the bottom is flat and unglazed.   It came from Southern China, probably Guangdong region during the Ming dynasty.  A lot of similar jars were manufactured from that area.  

The second is a brown-glazed covered box which, according to Locsin*, “has decorative patterns traced out with raised lines within an unglazed circular area on the cover.”  He added, “The effect was probably achieved by pressing a mold onto the unfired body.  The bodies are a coarse, buff-colored material.  Decorative motifs vary- phoenix, peony, horse chestnut, chrysanthemum, or geometric patterns.”  It’s nicely done even though there’s a roughness to it.  There’s a chip on the lower lip so I got a big discount.

  

Upon arriving home, I opened my platera of ceramics and placed these two special items onto their permanent positions.  And felt that all is well with the world.

* Leandro V. Locsin, Cecilia Y. Locsin. Oriental Ceramics Discovered in the Philippines. Charles E. Tuttle, 1967