169. The Bangkal Picker II: MORE THRIFT SHOP SANTOS

Just a few days after I went home from Bangkal with a cache of folk santos, the same seller called me up to say that she has some fresh stocks that I may like. She even sent me, by phone, photos of a pair of folksy-looking but solidly made santos. I thought they were quite interesting, so during my Monday lunchbreak,  I taxied to her shop to look at the pair of santos she was offering.

They turned out to be an appealing pair, almost of the same size, and obviously carved by the same artist. They are even painted the same way, and the colors have retained their vividness all these years. Though done by one artist, they are carved from different wood.

The first santo, a Sta. Maria, is the taller and heftier santo, about 12 inches tall. She is made of santol wood, and the body is almost cylindrical in shape, following the contour of a straight santol branch or small trunk. The cape and tunic are fancifully painted with trefoil flowers growing from a leafy vine.The naive carving of her features betrays the folksy character of this image. Nailed on her head is a rusted tin crown, with some missing tin parts.

San Vicente is equally interesting because even though he is smaller, he has more details--from the tin halo to his pair of tin wings (amazing how his wings have survived without being detached from his body!). he has extremely short arms, which add to his appeal, and is painted in almost the same way as the Virgin, with more of the leafy patterns on his vestment, rather than the flowers.

He could very well be the Virgin's twin, judging from San Vicente's facial carving--with a narrow head, long nose and a cheeky face.Of course, I bought the pair for a very reasonable price, much lower that one would have paid for in a regular antique shop.

But I was in for more surprises, as when I went to the larger Bangkal warehouse and started poking my nose around, I found more folk santos--a San Pedro and another unidentified female santa. Their coloration was much more vibrant, and despite San Pedro's missing key and the snta's lost hands, they were in great shape!

San Pedro was made of lighter wood, and it only took a bit of waxing to bring out its excellent features. I replaced the key with an antique skeleton key that I've had for years.

The second santa-- a very hefty piece-- stumped me as at first glance, it looked like a generic Sta. Maria, but the longer I looked at it, the more it resembled Sta. Teresita de Nino Jesus.She wears what looks like a nun's habit, and the floral patterns on her dress are consistent with the Carmelite saint's flower attributes. So, for now, she  is St,.Therese of the Child Jesus to me.

These santos turned out to be even much more affordable, so I brought them home with me too--thrift shop santos that have now become the latest treasures in my collection.

135. SAN ANTONIO: Patron of the Lost, Found.

And you thought fine quality, century old-santos could not be found in second-hand shops and thrift stores. Well, I just found one in Bangkal over the holidays—a 22 inch softwood San Antonio, that plumpish Franciscan invoked by devotees when they lose something—car keys, books, money, perhaps, even sanity. Evangelista St. and its dizzying side streets offer bargain hunters and thirll seekers like me, the chance of unearthing treasures amidst its heaps of domestic refuse, broken furniture, used books, ukay-ukay clothes, bric-a-bracs and gewgaws.

On a Monday afternoon—a holiday—and under a searing sun, I took off for the famed thrift shop capital of Makati. I was not disappointed at the first store I went to—I found old oval frames which I bought for the school museum, 50 bucks each. The next store yielded a pair of pink ceramic ballet dancer figurines, typical 50s camp, my cup of tea! But with my limited budget, I was focused on finding antique religious items, as I had been on a santo spree lately. Kitsch had to wait.

So off to my old suki’s store, which often had a stray santo now and then, but Belinda was nowhere to be found. Instead—the next-door shop sitter popped in and asked me to look around her shop. Sure enough, I saw a pair of fine altar candlesticks, which excited me for about 30 seconds. ..until the price dampened my enthusiasm.

 But lo and behold—on a chair, partly hidden by dama juana bottles—I saw the peeking head of a santo, which I mistook for San Nicolas—until the owner pulled it out, revealing the unmistakable form of the friar saint.

Here he is, relatively intact, sans a pair of hands, complete with a separate wooden base, with primitive triangular patterns. He may have held a book, or a Nino at one time, but that's okay; what I don’t see, I won’t miss.

One look and I knew it was a certified antique—from the bulging eyes of the saint, the classical profile, to the delicate and detailed flow of the garments and the primitive-style orb-like peana. The santo had lost its paint totally and only traces of gesso remained. Traces of gilding could be seen on its robe.

 At the back, someone affixed a paper tape with the following information: “St. Anthony, patron saint of those who losses (sic) things. Came from Bicol region, southern part of Phil. Island. Age over 100 years old. Carved by early Christian Filipinos”. Bless the dealer for adding this information. True or not, it adds to the mystique of this ancient santo. The santo carried a hefty price tag, but I was not intimidated. I asked the shop attendant to call the owner, and I made a ridiculously low offer that she vehemently refused. Having set an asbolute limit, I prepared to go and say goodbye to San Antonio. But wait---she said if I added P200 more, I could have it.

My only problem was, I only had a thousand bucks in my wallet. Please San Antonio, find me an ATM machine! Poof! I found a working BPI ATM just across the street. Praise the saint! As they say, seek, and ye shall find.

 Wait till the next holiday week-end..

103.BURIED TREASURES, Along a Boulevard of Broken Dreams

I've been told by a lot of collector-friends that Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City has a lot of junk shops and second-hand stores that hold hidden treasures of every sort--religious artifacts included. I am familiar with the the place as my first job was in an office located along this road lined with interesting shops, sights and buildings—like Arcega’s—where one could shop for the finest bicycles, and of course, the Magnolia Ice Cream Plant that housed the famous dairy bar. Further down was Broadway Centrum, then a spanking new commercial complex.

That was way back in the late 1980s, and I have not explored that side of the boulevard since. Well, this Sunday, I decided to set off for a return adventure to the famed boulevard after over 2 decades just to check those junkyards my tipsters have been raving about.

In fact, Aurora had become unrecognizable—so narrow, dirty and looking unsafe—and here I am walking the stretch of the boulevard under the hot early afternoon sun. The intersecting streets still rang with familiarity—there’s Seattle, Boston, Manga—but Betty Go-Belmonte St.? Now, where are the junk shops?

At the far end of Monte de Piedad St., I saw heaps of organized trash and stuff strewn on the sidewalk. The front of his house was littered with old 1960s magazines and newspapers, bric-a-brac and paintings, paper documents, jugs and glasses, softdrink bottles, soda cases, old toys, 1970s calendar, ceramics, and every conceivable house junk known to Man. I knew I had arrived at the right place.

My heart always palpitates when I see never-before seen junkyards such as this, my kind of hunting grounds for antiques and collectibles. I was greeted by a hulking young man, who lifted the tarpaulin awning shielding the front of his house, further revealing more flotsam and jetsam. “Ah, we expected you”, he said, and “we were told of your collecting interests by dealers in Kamuning, so we've prepared some items that may be of interest to you.."

I was not prepared for the item he showed, which was to become my most wanted object of desire. It’s inconceivable that this treasure could even be found here.

In fact, I had even ignored this thing on the floor, casually placed inside a red shopping bag, lost amidst the trash and thrift shop stuff in the small, cramped apartment. "This here is an ivory Christ...", he said, "but the case is a bit dilapidated..."

Ivory? Sto. Entierro? He must be kidding. I peeked into the shopping bag and sure enough, inside was a small calandra (display casket) with wooden and glass parts that have started to separate--- it had to be secured with strings to keep it together.

Then lo and behold! Inside was the wooden body of a dead Christ—with an ivory head. I was stunned. Ivory Santo Entierros are so hard to find in the market, that I have only seen one for sale, which I eventually got, never mind if the Christ was made of terra cotta. The rest are in private collections.

Now this Sto. Entierro is of ivory—the head that is. Closer inspection revealed that the head is of solid ivory, with beautifully carved features.

The only drawback was the nose—it had been sliced off neatly. It’s intriguing to think that the ivory part was used as an anting-anting (amulet) by a Katipunero (Philippine revolutionist) or that it was cut by an insurgent to disrespect his aquiline-nosed colonizers.

But the wooden body was in good condition, the fingers complete, with just a few toe tips missing. Its wig had disintegrated many years ago, but even the skullcap was there. A few trips to my santero will easily resurrect the Dead Christ and restore it to its former glory.

Putting my great negotiation skills to work, I arm-twisted him into selling the photos, the folk santos and the ivory Sto. Entierro for one, neat package cost that I offered. He agreed—and he even threw one small crown for a santo as my buena mano bonus.

This Sto. Entierro, certainly, is my find of the year. Who would think that I will find this treasure buried in a junkyard, along a boulevard of broken dreams and damaged goods from old homes? And, did I tell you that he even led me to another giant stockroom across the street that was crammed with the same stuff from wall to floor. I am sure there are other spectacular antique finds there, but I’ll leave that for another day.

Meanwhile, if you happen to be walking along Aurora Boulevard—don’t forget to keep your eye on those heaps of junk littering the nooks and crevices of Monte de Piedad St. On that same street, lightning may strike twice, and, underneath the debris and detritus, you’ll be able to dig up your own find of the year!