Thursday, January 9, 2014

180. ANTIQUE COLLECTORS AS CRUSADERS OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

 VIRGEN DE LA CORREA OF BETIS. Photo courtesy of Mr. Richard Diño

The recent theft of the antique ivory Nino Jesus of the Virgen de la Correa of Betis last Dec. 30 (the district’s fiesta, no less) once again put antiquarians and sacred art collectors on spotlight. Often, the knee-jerk reaction is to impute suspicion on antique collectors and their inordinate urge to acquire antiquities at any cost, leading many to conclude that collectors themselves are the major masterminds of church theft.

THE DRESSED UP CARROZA OF THE VIRGEN DELA CORREA, BEFORE THE PROCESSION.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Richard Diño

 There are allegedly horror stories of affluent collectors running a ring of antique dealers, financing them so they could acquire prized church art, through all means—from cajoling priests to part with their old santos as they renovate their churches, to resorting to paid crimes like theft and robbery. True, there are spurious collectors, middlemen and dealers, but they are few and far between. Past events involving the theft of church art have, in fact, included collectors playing significant parts in their return and recovery.

 AT THE SANTIAGO APOSTOL CHURCH.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Richard Diño

 Indeed, it is this instinct to save, to recover, to conserve and preserve—that drives a collector to do what he does, which, in a way, is aligned with the work of cultural and heritage activists. It took an antique collector with a discerning eye, for example, to recover the Santo Nino de Romblon, which had been lost for 22 years. In 2009, antique collectors networked online with heritage workers to find the image of an antique San Juan, stolen from one of the retablos in the Cathedral of Tayabas.

 MR. TOM JOVEN, WITH THE RECOVERED NINO OF THE VIRGEN DE LA CORREA
Photo from the FB page of Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David.

Thankfully, there is a happy ending too, to the recent event in Betis. A few days after the reported theft of the ivory Nino, the Archdiocesan Commission on Church Heritage (ACCH) of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, announced the successfully recovery of the revered image, with the help of yet another collector and renown ecclesiastical artist, Tom Joven.

Joven, who heads the Parish Pastoral Council of San Guillermo Parish of Bacolor and who also serves as member of the Tangible Heritage Committee of ACCH, reported his find to diocesan church authorities as the image surfaced in the antiques market, days after it was reported to be missing. His network of collector-friends provided him leads that allowed him to track the image in Manila, and which he eventually purchased---the ivory parts brought to him discreetly in a plastic bag, minus the wooden body.

 "I ONCE WAS LOST...BUT NOW I'M FOUND".
THE RETURNED NINO, MINUS THE WOODEN BODY.
Photo from the FB Page of Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David

Immediately, he notified the church authorities headed by Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David and the Pastoral Council of Betis. The acknowledged santo expert offered to restore the image and have it ready for official turnover to diocesan and local church authorities in time for the celebration of the Santo Niño Feast on January 19 (3rd Sunday of January).

 
Photo courtesy of Mr. Richard Diño

The ACCH circular acknowledged with gratitude the role that antique collectors played in the recovery of the Nino—alongside media entities, heritage advocates and netizens who helped spread the word about the theft of this treasured image which is imbued with priceless historical, cultural and spiritual meanings—a special part of the Augustinian legacy in Betis, Pampanga.

In the crusade against church crimes, count antique collectors in.

7 comments:

  1. great follow-up to the previous entry. I love your blog.

    also, i saw you had bought a san miguel from bangkal. How often do we see this saint type in the present antique market? All I see are San Vicentes and a few Immaculada Concepcion. Is this a scarce saint type?How about in Manila.

    I am spying one at a local dealer. I'm thinking of getting it. It's vintage I think. It's wood w/ gesso but the paint somewhat enamelish. And instead of a sword the santo is seen clutching with both hands a spear pointing downwards. I'm still thinking of getting it in the belief that it would be a long time til I get to see another tabletop size San Miguel.

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  2. San Miguels are very hard to come by. Maybe bec. many do not find having a carved 'devil' in the house appealing. True, the commonest santos you find here are San Vicente Ferrer, Imaculada, Isidro Labrador and San Roque. There was a large-ish San Miguel offered (although damaged) before by an antique shop in Legaspi Village owned by Dr. Ayco, but it has since closed.

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  3. Hi Alex, thanks for the reply. I think the devil part is what appeals to me most. Hehe. Anyway, I got the San Miguel for 5k and I'm happy with it. I'll feature in it a future entry. :)

    Hope to read more of your Bangkal finds!

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  4. Hi po! The Church of Bantayan has this image of Nuestra Señora del Santissimo Rosario since 1800's with an ivory head and Niño which was stolen on 1997 and a silver plancha and gold crown lost in 2004. Maybe u have friends hu can help find it. Bantayan is the oldest parish in visayas and mindanao yet all its antique treasures were of no remain. I think thieves are church insiders

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  5. Will try our best. Some years back, the San Juan image of Tayabas was stolen, and we recovered it thru the efforts of cultural activists in social media.

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  6. Good day, Mr. Alex. pwede ko po bang makuha ang email add ninyo? may personal po kasi akong e liham sa inyo. thanks po and God bless. +

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  7. The San Miguel small ivory image of argao is lost some years back. It was 19.5 inches wholly in ivory with golden ornaments. It was the San Miguel you posted from the catholic digest April 1965. Please, please, please help us retrieve our beloved San miguel, not for the sake of it's monetary value but for the religious and cultural and devotional significance. Please help us. I know you know about this. But please help us get back our beloved patron. May God speak in our conscience. Thanks a lot. More power.

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