350. Winging his way from ebay to my altar: SAN VICENTE FERRER

The popular online bidding site, ebay, is very strict with the sale of ivory  on its site, and since 1990, you can no longer engage in the international trade or sale of new ivory. The sale of ivory items made before 1947 can be freely bought and sold, though importers and exporters need a permit. 

But even with these rules, ebay buyers tend to pass up on antique ivory santos, after considering all other factors, not to mention, risks. That was why, when I saw a Manila-based seller offering a few antique ivory pieces on ebay, I was rather skeptical if they would sell at all. True enough, they didn’t. 

One of the antique ivories that piqued my interest was a stunning 11 inch, San  Vicente Ferrer figure, with head and hands of ivory. It was fitted on a manikin body, and dressed in its original Dominican vestments, complete with a capuce (habit hood), in traditional black--which has faded to blue—and white. 

The habit is lightly embroidered with gold thread, and the short shoulder hood features a 6 pointed star-shaped flower repeated on the white tunic.

The 19^th century ivory santo, as described in the original post, once belonged to a Catholic faithful who converted and became a born-again Christian, a religion which discourage the use of religious icons as objects of veneration. The antique ivory even bears a stamp of certification from the government that confirms its antiquity, which qualifies it for international sale.

San Vicente Ferrer is commonly depicted as a pudgy friar, with one hand pointing heavenward, with the other hand holding a book, to allude to his being a charismatic preacher. This santo, however, has an open palm in benediction. His right hand holds a tiny ‘leather-bound’ book, a nice detail, if I may add.

Missing was his pair of metal angel wings (San Vicente was considered as an angel), a halo and a globe base, in reference to his mission “to preach unto them that sit upon the earth, and over every nation, and tribe, and tongue, and people".

With the fine antique ivory unsold, I lost no time in contacting the dealer whom I knew all along—and concluded the sale online.

This San Vicente was one of my earliest ivory pieces that was worked on in 2001 by renown ivory restorer, Dr. Raffy Lopez. The first thing he did was to remove the gold embroidery from the fraying cloth, then transferring them on new satin. Using the old habit pattern, he replicated the distinctive vestment of the Dominican saint.

He had a pair of  brass wings plated in gold made, using an old pattern, and opted to have a “paragua” halo, to avoid punching holes on the santo’s outfit and body.

Finally, he had an appropriate  wooden globe base made, elevating the santo to a height of 15 inches. San Vicente Ferrer may be one of the most common santos that one can find in antique shops, but this ivory version remains special to me, not only because it was one of the very first ivory pieces that I got to own, but also because of the of the circumstances of how I acquired it—not from an antique shop, a collector, or a ‘runner’, mind you—but from the comfort of my own home-- online, in front of my computer!

348. Sorrowful No More: AN ANTIQUE MATER DOLOROSA, REMADE.

MATER DOLOROSA, COMPLETED

This Mater Dolorosa, made of antique ivory parts, is without doubt, my favorite because of its personal meaning to me. I was drawn to the Sorrowful Mother at the time my father was battling a fatal disease in 1998. When he passed away, I made a vow to acquire a Dolorosa image to be processed in our town during the Holy Week, in gratitude for his painless, peaceful transition.  I managed to find a vintage processional Dolorosa shortly after, and began a family tradition of participating in the annual Semana Santa prusisyons of our town. 

ALL WE HAD WAS AN IVORY HEAD...

...AS THE RESTORATION BEGAN.

I also wanted a version that we could venerate at home, perhaps an antique ivory piece, but by the early 2000s, complete, tabletop ivory images were becoming scarcer, and therefore pricier. I started searching for sacred images online—it was something novel at that time—so I was surprised to find an ebay Philippines site that had a few sellers of old items and collectibles. 

ANTIQUE HANDS WERE SERENDIPITOUS FINDS.

THE HEAD ACQUIRED A CARVED TORSO

It was there that I met a local dealer, who turned out to be the brother of an officemate!. When I asked him offline to be on the lookout for an  ivory Dolorosa, he sent a private message to tell me, that he in fact has a solid ivory Dolorosa head. When I got hold of the picture, I was stunned, because it was an antique ivory head some three inches long, exquisitely carved, with open mouth, complete with glass eyes, complete with tiny crystla teardrop. It was of very high quality ivory, creamy white in color, without cracks and flaws. Unfortunately, that was all that he had—the clasped hands are missing, and so is the body, the base (peana), and accessories, right down to lost vestments, metal accessories and wig. 

ALL-NEW METAL AUREOLA

THE DOLOROSA ON HER PEANA

I just could not pass up this ivory head, so I got it and kept it in a velvet pouch for a year or so, before I finally took it to my restorer, Dr. Raffy Lopez. One look, and he confirmed that I, indeed, made a good decision as the ivory was excellent in all aspects. His only problem were the missing pair of ivory hands, as it’s almost impossible to find old parts of appropriate size. I had no choice but to settle for new replacement  ivory hands.

FINELY CARVED FACE REVEALS HER GRIEF

SALVAGED EMBROIDERY ON HER VESTMENT

 So I left the Dolorosa head with Dr. Lopez, not even bothering to ask for a timeline, as I don’t have one too. But two weeks later, he was on the phone again, sharing me about his excitement of finding a a pair of ivory hands—clasped hands—perfectly fitting the size of my Dolorosa. I can’t ask for better news! 

DETAIL OF THE FLORAL EMBROIDERY

BACK VIEW OF THE CAPE

With my full trust in Dr. Lopez, I just left him to his own devices—although he would contact me once in a while to confer about my personal choices—do I like her in pure black or maroon and blue? Do I prefer a floral peaña? He suggested to do away with the wig as she will be wearing a wimple, anyway. And he also recommended satin fabrics. 

THE COMPLETED IMAGE IS 22 INCHES TALL

MATER DOLOROSA, IN HER URNA

While Dr. Lopez was restoring and completing the Dolorosa, I was also briefing a local carver for a customized urna in which to house my Dolorosa. Based on the completed height of the image (about 22 inches tall), I commissioned a Betis artisan to copy a wooden urna and its design, I found in an online antique site. He had to do it twice—because the first one he did was box shaped; I wanted the front to have 3 panels of glass, which will make it trapezoidal.

 

MATER DOLOROSA, IN HER URNA.

After three months, the antique Dolorosa head had a bastidor body, jointed arms, fully embroidered vestments, and a peana with  calado design. It was now a complete image, standing 22 inches tall, beautifully dressed on her gilded base. Inside her carved urna, the Dolorosa reposes, still sad but stunning. Only her new caretaker is sorrowful no more.

222. WHERE HAVE ALL THE SANTOS GONE? part II

IMMACULATE TRANSACTION. This spectacular Immaculate Conception of over 3 feet, appeared for sale on ebay from dealer "robacus" or "losantiguos", who was allegedly involved in church theft sometime in 2003-04.. The case was later dismissed.

This spread of fabulous santos appeared on the ebay page of Rory Bacus, who sold antique santos under the name "robacus" and "losantiguos". After some objects were found in his house, the Cebu archdiocese sued the dealer for fencing various religious artifacts in October 2003.

In April of the next year, a decision was handed down by the Cebu Regional Trial Court dismissing the case against Bacus.

Regional Trial Court Judge Ireneo Lee Gako Jr., in a Feb. 20 order, exonerated  Bacus of the charges of violating the Anti-Fencing Law. The court also ordered the release of 278 religious icons and artifacts to Bacus.

The dismissal of the case greatly disappointed Church officials who expressed their disgust over the outcome of the case. Fr. Carlito Pono, head of the Commission on the Cultural Heritage of the Church, admitted that while some of the parishes that reportedly lost icons had refused to cooperate, others could not find any evidence to prove ownership of the stolen items.

While the case was dragging, Bacus returned to eba,  although this time around, his posted items were smaller, primitive santos--the kinds one can readily find in downtown Manila antique shops.

Ninos, such as these, obviously carried by bigger santo figures like San Antonio, Virgen del Rosario, etc. were also listed on ebay. Some were sold, others withdrawn for sale even after a winning bid had been placed. The dealer sent explanatory messages to the effect that the item had been sold in an antique fair and that he had forgotten.

The noted antique dealer, Rory Bacus, passed away, sometime in 2013. The whereabouts of his remaining antique santo stock remains unknown.

214. Found on ebay: A SPANISH COLONIAL NIÑO PERDIDO

SANTO NIÑO PERDIDO. The lost Holy Child refers to an episode in Luke 2:41-52 when, at the age of twelve, he accompanies his parents to Jerusalem on pilgrimage. On the day of their return, Jesus strayed away from Mary and Joseph. The distraught parents returned to Jerusalem to find  Jesus three days later. The losing of Jesus is one of the 7 Sorrows of Mary.

When I discovered the world of ebay in the mid-1990s, I was amazed at its wide inventory of items for sale or for bidding. I was surprised to find a smattering of old colonial santos for sale, a few from the Philippines, but mostly—at least back then--from the Spanish colonial period of the Americas.

 I could only drool and dream about these wooden antique santos as they were different stylistically from the local santos that I know. They were more doll-like, classically carved, and their coloration mimicked the healthy, pinkish skin tones of Caucasians.

 I still remember the early dealers whose ebay stores visited, like Historia Antiques which offered museum quality santos and a seller who went by with a rather sassy name—dkr-alliegirl. She always had santos in pristine condition for sale, vividly described and beautifully photographed for a willing buyer. But of course, the price tags kept me away from acquiring such treasures—until I saw this little 9.5 inch Christ Child on dkr-alliegirl’s site.

 Advertised by the seller as a “Niño Perdido” (Lost Christ Child), it was delicately carved from softwood, with arms fixed,complete with finely carved fingers. The miniature santo stood on a simple rectangular base, and had painted hair and glass eyes. Noteworthy was santo’s original coloration which it has retained all these years—from his painted white body to the pinkish blush on his cheeks. 

I am not familiar with the iconography of a “Niño Perdido”; for awhile I thought it was a companion piece to a San Jose, who was sometimes represented as walking hand in hand with the Child Jesus. 

The ebay auction ended with the Niño attracting zero bids, and when next I looked, it was up for grabs at $175. This was when I made my move and contacted the seller, despite the price which I felt was still steep. It turned out that the seller was Deborah Richter, a formidable collector of Hispanic colonial art, and whose antiques have been loaned to exhibits and museums.

I tried coaxing her into selling the Niño to me for a lower price, but she was rather firm with her price. Eventually, with a sigh, I gave in and paid for the piece at the price she wanted, but satisfied with the thought that the provenance of this piece is impeccable, coming from American collectors of note. Years later, I would find Kurt and Debbie Richter’s pieces included in the book “Saints & Sinners: Mexican Devotional Art”, by Schiffer Publishing, which featured an antique ivory Virgin Mary in a virina, among others.

It took awhile for the santo to reach the Philippines from the U.S. But upon seeing it, I knew it was worth the wait, and the price! My first ebay santo purchase also turned out to be one of the first vestment projects of Dr.Raffy Lopez for me. He put together a satin ensemble heavily embroidered with floral patterns on the front and on the sleeves. Lacey cuffs and a collar, plus a one-piece brass tress potencias completed the Nino’s outfit.

 I found a suitable sized wooden gothic urna for my Niño Perdido, just 18 inches high. On a special altar in my living room, the Christ Child stands, ready to give his blessing to those who come in. It’s been a long journey from the U.S. to the Philippines, but the little boy lost has, at long last, found a new home, and I will be forever grateful for honoring us with His holy presence.

196. ST. LOUIS Of FRANCE: The King Who Would Be Saint

ST. LOUIS, KING & CONFESSOR. A small figure of the King of France, rendered in bone, stands 6 inches high, on a wooden base. Ca. 1900s. Personal Collection.

I graduated from Saint Louis University in Baguio City, Northern Philippines, and in the whole time I was there, I really never bothered to find out about the saint after whom our school was named. There was a confusion of some sorts as to who the real patron was; our university exam booklets for example, has the profile of San Luis Gonzaga (St. Aloysius Gonzaga) of Italy illustrated on the cover. Then, there is the university seal (Sword and Shield) which is described as having the "stylized lily associated with St. Aloysius Gonzaga, the patron of the school".

The school, however, was founded by CICM (Congregatio Immaculati Cordis Mariae) missionaries from Belgium, so they could not have chosen a Italian saint for its patron. It made more sense to name the school after a French saint--King Louis of France. He was born in 1214, in Poissy, France to parents Louis VIII, and Blanche, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castille.

He was barely 12 when he lost his father, so his mother assumed the regentship and took over in raising her Louis, instilling in him the virtue of holiness in his thought and deeds. At 20, he married Margaret, the daughter of Raymond Berenger, Count of Provence, with whom he had 11 children. Two years later, he took over the reins of the government of France.

He headed several crusaded, but in 1238, he was captured by Mohammedans but was able to return to France. He attempted another crusade in the East in 1267, but this time, he would never return. In 1270, he caught a sickness in Tunis and died after receiving the last sacraments.

 

In his reign, Louis had a vision to make France as the most eminent of all Catholic nations in Europe. He built religious edifices like the famous monsatery of Royamount and the convent of Maubuisson. He was responsible for the purchase of the Holy Crown of Thorns relics from the Eastern emperor at Constantinople. He heard Masses twice a day, and was surrounded with priests during his travels. He outlawed usury, forbade private wars between his feudal vassals and was renowned for charity.

This representation of him--an ebay find--was carved from a singular piece of narrow bone that resembles ivory. The slim figure is carved in the round and shows the crowned royalty holding a book. Other attributes include a sword and a shield representing his authority. He is often attired in royal robes with golden fleur-de-lis (the "stylized lily" described in our university's crest). The carving is signed with the name of the maker, "Louis Plesey", a namesake of the saint.

St. Louis is the patron saint of barbers and grooms, and is invoked against the death of children. The royal saint's feast day falls on Augut 25.