343. NAZARENO OF THE DUMPSTER : Restoration Extreme

NAZARENO OF QUIAPO, AFTER ITS RESTORATION.

Since I retired, I have gone easy on buying old, slightly-flawed santos for restoration. I can sense that my santo-mania have subsided a bit, which is good, but not my compulsion for taking on santo projects. I know a good challenge when I see one.

THE VINTAGE NAZARENO, AS FOUND.

Take this dismembered Nazareno for instance, depicting the Black Nazarene of Quiapo.. I had gone to a neighborhood garage sale where I bought an antique filing cabinet. As I was talking to the homeowner, I noticed he was holding a plastic bag that contain some wooden santo body parts.

ALL WRAPPED UP FOR THE TRASH,

I knew it was a vintage Nazareno, the types that were commercially sold, perhaps, in front of churches back in the 1950s and 60s. When I asked to take a look, he said, “Oh, this is a santo that came from an altar that I already sold. It’s been broken in pieces, damaged beyond repair, so that’s why I am throwing it out,”.

“Can I have it?”, I asked. “I’ll save you a trip to the garbage dump”.

NAZARENO PARTS, cleaned and sorted.

So not only did I take the cabinet home, but also a dis-assembled naked, wigless Nazareno without a base and feet. The torso had separated from the rest of his body, and the cross, just like the figure’s fingers, was broken. The head had miraculously survived, made of escayola, typical of mass-produced midcentury Nazarenos. Likewise, the Nazareno’s tin potencias and crown of thorns were intact.

NAZARENO PARTS, glued and assembled.

When I finally had the chance to clean and assemble the pieces, I was surprised that about 90% of the figure were still there, albeit in horrible condition. I knew this Nazareno can be salvaged, but I don’t think I can do it alone, so I took it to the nearby House of Saints, whose manager, Mr. Regie Honrada is a formidable collector of images himself.

RECONSTRUCTED HEAD, BODY & CROSS

I think only he could understand why on earth I would want to restore a santo with that seemingly-hopeless condition. So, he agreed to do a sympathetic restoration of the piece to retain its integrity as an antique.

STAGING THE RECONSTRUCTED SANTO

When I came back for it after a month, Regie had added the Nazareno’s missing feet, carved a new left arm as the damaged part was beyond repair. The head and its features had also been repainted and reglued to the body. The Nazareno now rests on a plain solid wooden base, stained and varnished.

SALVAGED VESTMENTS, used in restoration.

The most wonderful part was that, Regie did not charge me a centavo for the work he did, he was just glad to help. As for Jesus’s vestments, I brought along some old, embroidered santo robes that I saved from my other restoration projects.

IN YELLOW VESTMENTS, later re-dyed,

Unfortunately, the robe and the cape were of faded yellow satin, once worn by an ivory santo. When vestment-maker Paul Candaza attempted to dress the Nazareno using them, they actually fit, but the color was really not appropriate.

OLD SANTO ABACA WIG, recurled.

So what I did was to dye the robe maroon red, using good old fashion “jobus” powder. I did the same for a small abaca wig, dying it black and re-curling it using toothpick as rollers. I did away with the cape and after vesting the image and making minor adjustments, the result was this—

Before & After PHOTOS, NAZARENO RESTORATION

I thought this unusual Nazareno restoration project was quite a success. From a santo destined for the trash, it has now become a treasure, fit to grace any altar of any home.

NAZARENO, with re-dyed maroon vestments.

NAZARENO, in re-dyed maroon vetsment.

NTRO. PADRE JESUS NAZARENO, restored

MANY THANKS TO: Mr. Reggie Honrada of House of Saints, Mr. Paul Candaza

260. Santo Stories: APUNG NIÑO OF MABALACAT

Mabalacat, a Recollect town--and now a city--has but a handful of antique santos to show, owned by a few local families. The most well known--especially for its antiquity--is a medium-sized Sto. Nino under whose gaze, many Mabalaquenos have sought comfort and answers to their prayers for many generations. Apung Nino, they call this figure, owned by the Cunanan Family and their forebears from way, way back, that nobody remembers anymore its origin. and his veneration is open to all who visit His shrine. now weathered and darkened with age, but who continues to shower His people with graces, blessings and--many believe--wondrous  miracles.

In a humble, nondescript home embraced by lush,  flowering plants and trees, the Cunanans have enshrined Apung Nino in their home altar, a home they have opened to devotees who wish to visit and pray before the Holy Child. The house itself is old, but not as old as Apung Nino, a be-wigged, plump-ish figure of the Christ Child on a gilded base, with an orb on one hand, and the other raised in benediction.

Metal 'tres potencias' adorn Apung Nino's head, and that's just about the accessories he owns. Devotees, however, have gifted the revered image with presents through the years--a necklace, a locket, simple pieces of jewelry Even his vestments are austere by present-day standards. At home, Apung Nino wears simple house clothes; on the town fiesta, He dons more special clothes embroidered with gold-colored threads.

The caretaker of the image that everyone remembers was the late Engracia "Apung Asyang" Sengco Castro Cunanan,who tended Apung Nino along with children Yoyong, Roming, Ising, Nanding, Carding, and Fe Cunanan. After Apung Asyang passed away on 24 October 1987, and upon her death, her daughter Fe took over her duties. She thus continues the tradition of being a "camarera" of the family image began by her ancestors many years ago.

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Apung Nino's special days are on the Feast of Sto. Nino every January and on the town fiesta of Mabalacat. During the fiesta celebration, Apung Nino gets to wear His special vestments and gets to go out of His Agusu home and, borne on a carroza, joins the festive town procession. And as the Holy Child makes the rounds of the town, one could hear the silent intonation of prayers of the faithful who have come from all over to give thanks and praise....

"O Senor Sto. Nino, You are Our King and Our God. We worship you. You are our strong Defender. We turn to you forever and ever...Amen".

187. STA. INES: From A Virgin Most Pure to a Virgin-Martyr

STA. INES, VIRGEN y MARTIR. Blessedness in Ivory.

There are only a handful of wooden Sta. Ines images in the Philippines, so what more of ivory? In my years of going to antique shops, ancestral houses and heritage sites, I have seen many “santas” rendered in ivory, even those considered minor or not as well-known.

In one shop, I once saw a beautiful ivory Sta. Lucia in a virina, complete with a pair of silver eyes on a dish. I also remember seeing an unusual Sta. Rita holding a crucifix and a skull, flanked by her young sons, all in ivory. Most recently, a large Sta. Filomena, with gold accessories and regally-embroidered vestment surfaced in the market.

With the exception of the processional ivory Sta. Ines in Bulacan, I still have yet to see one for sale, be it from a shop or from a private collector. I’ve always taken a keen personal interest in the virgin-martyr saint, as I come from Barrio Sta. Ines in Mabalacat, known today as the Pampanga exit of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX).

I like to believe that it’s also more than a coincidence that I was born on the feast of Sta. Ines—January 21—thus further underlining her significance to me. For years, in our small barrio, veneration revolved around a small Sta. Ines image owned by the Dela Cruzes, an old Mabalacat family whose ancestors founded the barangay in the 19th century. I’ve always been fixated on the ancient figure of the young santa, dressed in green with a palm leaf in one hand, and a primitive-looking lamb at her feet.

 When I developed an interest in santo collecting, I told myself that one day, I will have my own antique Sta. Ines in ivory. But after years of waiting in vain, I was ready to give up—until a friend gave me sage advice – “ïf you can’t find one, make one”.

THE ORIGINAL LA PURISIMA. Found in a Fairview antique warehouse, this santa has ivory head and hands. It stood on a globe base and had a dispropotionately stunted body, which made it ideal for conversion into the child-saint, Agnes.

That opportunity presented itself when I found this small La Purisima Concepcion in a dealer’s warehouse, and which I acquired for a reasonable price. One look, and I knew the ivory headed-image with ivory hands was a perfect candidate for transformation into a Sta. Ines.

 It had a young-looking, soulful face on a body that was a bit short—more teenage than adult, just the right size of I were to make a young santa representing a 14 years old. The Virgin had a manikin body, so it was easy for me to pose her in the attitude of Sta. Ines—one arm pressed to her chest to hold the palm of martyrdom, the other, holding a lamb.

There were a few things that needed to be changed—the globe base with the snake had to go. That was the easy part. But the vestments needed to be overhauled totally.

 STATUE OF ST. AGNES, at St. Joseph's Shrine, St. Louis, Missouri USA. From the flickr page of Mr. Mark Scott.

I took the Purisima to my restorer, bringing with me pictures and estampitas (holy cards) of the saint, for wardrobe color reference.

ESTAMPITAS OF STA. INES, show a consistency in the color depiction of her dress, which guided the restorer in the creations of the santa's vestments.

Most of our visual references assigned her the colors pink and blue green, so my restorer and I decided to work on those shades. Her vestments will only have minimal gold embroidery on the hems, with much draping to be done to simulate the rich folds of St. Agnes statues done in the round.

 Months before, I had the good sense to buy tiny lambs and sheep of white clay, which originally formed part of an antique Nativity crèche. So, that solved what I thought was my biggest problem—tto find the saint’s animal attribute that also bears her name phonetically—Agnus, or lamb.

STA. INES AND HER EMBLEMS. The silver palm is actually a vintage silver brooch picked from a Mabini shop. The lamb is an antique creche animal figure.

The most difficult challenge turned out to be the search for a silver palm leaf—a symbol of the young saint’s martyrdom. I scoured ebay for a silver palm brooch, but came away empty-handed—either they were way too expensive or were not of the right shape and size.

But a week after the start of the transformation project, I dropped by at a Mabini antique shop and found an old but damaged silver brooch, that could pass off as a palm frond, as it had individual leaves. The size was also perfect!

After a month of waiting, my Sta. Ines was done. When delivered, she was wearing a new jusi wig, crowned with an antique silver gothic halo that I found separately, standing on an oval gilded base, specially commissioned for her.

With the addition of the silver “palm” leaf and the tiny lamb on one palm, the santa-formerly-known-as-La Purisima looked every inch a Sta. Ines.

STA. INES, in its glass virina. Personal Collection.

158. Santo Stories: LA MUERTE DE SAN JOSE of Paete and Pampanga

The dramatic tableau of La Muerte de San Jose (Death of San Jose) belongs to the famed woodcarving Cagandahan Family of Paete, the country's carving capital. Master carvers from this family include the 1952 Art Association of the Philippines awardee, Isaac V. Cagandahan, who created the "Orasyon", and Paete Arts Guild member, Glenn Cagandahan. 

This processional tableau shows the dying San Jose, comforted by Mary and Jesus and attended by a bevy of angels. It dates from the late 19th century.

In the 1900s, a member of the Cagandahan family, Basilisa Cagandahan, became the second wife of a Kapampangan man, Irineo Jose. As a gift to her husband, she had this smaller replica of their Paete's La Muerte de San Jose made. They are exact copies, only done in smaller scale.

This version now is in the care of the Tantingco Family, relatives of the Cagandahan-Jose Family. It is kept in its own storehouse in Mabalacat, Pampanga,  and is still regularly used for procession, especially on his feast days, March 19 and May1.

The twin images now serve as a link to two families, united in marriage, but divided by geographic locations--one in Pampanga, and the other in Paete, which incidentally, are two major carving centers of the Philippines.

(Pictures and info courtesy of Arwin Paul Lingat, Robby Tantingco, Rhea Jose Mateo)