216. THE 1ST PHILIPPINE EXPOSITION OF CHRISTIAN ART

In March 1937, the1st Philippine Exposition of Christian Art was held in the Philippines, a first-time exhibit of antique religious and ecclesiastical art culled from private and church collections. The pre-war exhibit was organized in time for the holding of the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in Manila, and was held at the Victoria Gardens, Manila.

 Some of the precious heirloom santos on display include the Buencamino family’s “Last Supper”, a tableaux of 12 seated santo figures representing Christ’s disciples, plus the carved likeness of Christ himself. This grouping still exists today. Just as awe-inspiring was a set of crucifixes that , as one magazine recorded, “won praises from lay visitors and foreigners as well as church dignitaries who were in the city to witness the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress.” Here are the pictures of the exhibited crucifixes and the original captions that described them.

CHRIST UPON THE CROSS 

The image of Christ sculptured about 160 years ago, and at present the property of Doña Consuelo David de Jesus of Sta. Cruz, Manila.

THE IVORY CHRIST 

The Ivory Christ the first and only one of its kind in the Philippines and probably in the whole world today. It is made of pure ivory supported on a cross on a block of wood of Philippine ebony. This image stands about 2 feet tall (mountings excluded) and is a cherished possession of a family in Naga, Camarines Sur.

THE NUEVA ECIJA CRUCIFIX 

The Nueva Ecija crucifix which is said to have been made in 1732, is not, as one would expect, a church property. On the contrary, it belongs to the municipality of Gapan, Nueva Ecija and is at present, in the custody of its lay officials. Many a Gapan townsman, 200 years ago, knelt and prayed before this crucifix not in devotion, but in atonement for theft, slander and slight offences.

177.RELIGIOUS IVORY ARTS DURING THE SPANISH PERIOD

 (Excerpts from Chapter 2, The Arts of the Philippines 1521-1957, ed. By Winfield Scott Smith, Manila, 1958. Published by Associated Publishers, Inc. , p. 9, 14, 15). 

SAN ANTONIO. Ivory polychromed and gilded. Philippine-Chinese school of the 18th century. Unsuual in that the figure is rendered in ivory, harking back to an earlier tradition. The ivory has been enriched with paint and gold leaf (F. Zobel Collection). 

 SAN JOSE. The head and hands were usually fashioned of ivory while the body was a wooden structure under the heavily embroidered robes. Often, human hair was used and frequently, gold, silver and previous jewels were used with the embroidery. (Miss Adelaida Paterno Collection). 

NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL ROSARIO. An execellent example of highly finished and elaborately conceived images popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, and still treasured as family heirlooms. (Miss Adelaida Paterno Collection). 

 SAN ANTONIO. Ivory figurine clothes in robes embroidered with prescious metals. The hair is real. Probably late 18th or early 19th century. . (Miss Adelaida Paterno Collection).

A word should be said about sculpture in ivory. Unlike wooden sculpture, large numbers of old ivory have survived to our day. Their survival was caused, not only by their small size, but by the intrinsic value of the material involved. On the whole, the ivory statuettes lack the vigor of their wooden brethren. Ivory lends itself to technical virtuosity, distracting to the spectator and apparently irresistible to the ordinary craftsman. The worst examples replace expression with simple enumeration. They become mere catalogues, of eyebrows, toe nails, buckles and glass eyes with nothing in particular to hold them together as artistic statements.

The craftsmen who carved them were perhaps too skilful and copied their models over-conscientiously, putting manual dexterity over imagination. As forms of artistic expression, the majority of these figurines are of little artistic and historical value, though they are pleasant enough in their Victorian quaintness, especially when furnished with glass eyes, real hair and elaborately embroidered robes that hide, more often than not, a wooden body.