193. AN IVORY VIRGIN MYSTERY

WHO CAN SHE BE? An antique ivory-faced Virgin, with missing parts, surfaced in the market a few years ago. Her identification remains a mystery, but I suspect she represents "Our Lady of Light", and not "Our Lady of Consolation", as she was previously named by the seller.

 The identification of santos seem simple enough; one need only to look at his emblems and attributes to pin down his/her identity. A more diligent study is needed when the major attributes are missing—the attitude of the saint, his facial features, the pose of his hands, the color of the garment--can help in the identification process.

It is easy to assume that santos in a tableau (an assemblage of more than one holy figure) are easier to identify ( e.g. Crucifixion, Holy Trinity, Coronation of the Virgin), but not in the case of this ivory Marian tableau, whose identity continues to baffle me.

The dealer who showed this to me told me it was a Virgen del Carmen. At first glance, it did look like Our Lady of Mount Carmel—for it featured a small bearded ivory figure emerging from what looked like the fires of purgatorio (purgatory). The depiction of souls in purgatory are usually represented with half-bodies engulfed by flames and European paintings often include these souls (anima sola) with the image of the Virgen del Carmen.

But then, Virgen del Carmen is often represented in brown vestments, and is shown seated with a Nino—much unlike this standing Virgin in gold-embroidered clothes. Also, if this were a Virgen del Carmen, her right hand would have been in a grasping pose, to hold a scapular.

This observation then, led me to think that this was Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. I have seen figures of souls in the representations of the Virgen del Rosario, a known intercessor in saving souls from the flames of purgatory.

 However, when I further examined the figure of the man with outstretched hand at the base of the santo, I was surprised to see a pair of eyes on his back. A closer scrutiny clearly showed that the eyes were part of the features of a demon creature about to swallow up the hapless soul!! This unusual scene is depicted in the representation of Our Lady of Light or Ntra. Sra. De la Salavacion, simply here in the Philippines as Salvacion.

 “Salvacion”was one of the favorite Christian images of veneration introduced by the Jesuits, closely associated with their missionary work in Europe and in America. The inspiration for this image came from Palermo, Italy, where Jesuit Giovanni Antonio Genovese asked a nun to create the most effective visual representation for this devotion. The nun saw the image in her vision and had an artist paint it. The painting was housed in the Leon Cathedral in 1732.

 In the Salvacion tableau, a standing Virgin holding the Child Jesus would have her right, outstretched hand snatching a soul from the mouth of a demon—which would have been consistent with this figure, save for the pose of her right hand—the manikin hand could have been repositioned at some time.

 Opposite this—emerging from the cloudy base as seen in this tableau-- would have been the figure of a winged angel offering a basket of hearts, symbolizing saved souls. A pair of smaller angels would have hovered above the Virgin’s head, ready to crown her.

It would have been easy to verify this—there would have been holes or remnants of dowels and wires on the back of the Virgin that are tell-tale signs by which the angels were attached to the body of the Virgin . Unfortunately, this tableau was sold soon, so there is no way to examine the tableau and ascertain the image’s true identity.

 Our Lady of Light is invoked for protection against storms, plagues and other natural disasters. In modern times, she is the patron of electricians.

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.

179. TAKEN: The Ivory Niño of the Virgen De La Correa of Betis, Guagua

LOSS OF LEGACY. The revered image of the Virgen de la Correa, of Betis, Pampanga, as she appeared on her carroza, en route to her procession. The Nino Jesus in the embrace of Our Lady was stolen on 30 Dec. 2013, during the town fiesta. Ca. 1930s.

 The December 30, 2013 fiesta of Betis turned out to be a most lamentable day for the people of this district, when the antique ivory Niño Jesus that accompanies the revered Ntra. Sra. De la Correa (Our Lady of the Cincture), was stolen between 3:00-3:30 p.m. from the Santiago Apostol Church, before the scheduled procession.

Picture of theVirgen de la Correa taken in the morning of Dec. 30, 2013, Betis fiesta. In the aftrenoon, between 3-3:30 p.m., the ivory Jesus the Virgin holds, was taken.

 The image of the Virgen de la Correa is one of two precious images of Betis church, the other, being the ivory figure of its titular patron, Santiago Apostol (St. James). Devotion ot the Virgen de la Correa is rooted in 3 historical events: the founding of the Order of St. Augustine (OSA) in Italy, the erection of the San Agustin Church in Intramuros in 1608, and the establishment of the first batch of cofradia devotees under this advocacy.

 Augustinian missionaries came to Betis in 1572 where they founded a mission. The ivory images of the Virgen de la Correa and the Niño Jesus are among the treasured legacies left by the said order. The medium-sized images of the centuries-old Virgen de la Correa and the Infant Jesus feature ivory head and hands. She wears a cloth band (correa) around her waist, which is also part of the monastic habit of Augustinians.

Members of the Pecson Family of Guagua, designated caretakers of the treasured Virgen de la Correa image, tasked with dressing up the image, and preparing her carroza for the annual procession. Ca. 1930s.

For the longest time, the designated camareros (caretakers) were the Pecson family of Guagua, in whose house, the Virgin and the Holy Child are dressed and prepared for the procession. Our Lady wears real gold jewelry donated by devotees through the years and the duo have their onw carroza of silver. During the Lenten season, the ivory Virgin, minus the Niño, is transformed into a Virgen Alegria (The Joyful Mary) who greets the resurrected Christ in the annual Salubong rites. She is borne on another silver carroza for this purpose.

 Immediately after the discovery of the theft of the ivory Niño, the Archdiocesan Commission on Church Heritage posted a message on the social networking site Facebook, to report the loss of this image and to seek for help in its recovery. The auxiliary bishop of Pampanga, Pablo Virgilio David, who hails from Betis, also sounded a call for the search of the Infant Jesus of the Virgen de la Correa, which is considered a significant part of Betis’s religious heritage. So far, no leads have been received.

 We hope and pray for the eventual and safe return of the Infant Jesus image, the same way that the once-lost images of the Sto. Niño de Romblon and Ntra. Soledad de Porta Vaga, were found and recovered.