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)

157. Retro-Santo: SAN PASCUAL BAYLON of Obando

The town of Obando in Bulacan is famed for its trio of fertility saints: Our Lady of Salambao, Sta. Clara, and San Pascual Baylon. For centuries, childless couples from all over made pilgrimages to this town to ask for intercession from these saints, so that they may be blesses with children. This they do, in the form of dancing—taken from San Pascual’s last name “Bailon”, purportedly derived from the Spanish verb, “bailar”, meaning “to dance”.

 The devotion to San Pascual, like Sta. Clara, was introduced by Franciscans when they arrived in the country in the 18th century. Born in Aragon in 1540, this pious Spaniard was a shepherd before he became a Franciscan lay brother and mystic known for his devotion to the Eucharist.

Serving his fellow Franciscans with all humility, San Pascual was assigned kitchen duties, hence, he became a popular patron of the kitchen. In religious art he is shown dressed in the brown robes of a Franciscan, kneeling in a kitchen while in rapt contemplation of the Eucharistic host suspended mid-air in a monstrance.

The story of how he came to be invoked against infertility began when a barren couple from Hagonoy met a crab vendor who advised them to go to the church of Obando and participate in the parish’s Maytime dance ritual. Coming face to face with the image of San Pascual enshrined in the church, they quickly realized that the crab vendor shared the same visage, leading them to conclude that they had met a saint. The wife soon conceived and bore a male baby. The cult spread as San Pascual was recognized as the patron saint of childless couples.

 San Pascual Baylon Parish (Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Salambao) is under the administration of the Catholic Diocese of Malolos.

156. LA INMACULADA: The Conception of a Beautiful Restoration

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. The image of the Immaculate Conception, 28" tall (with halo) , as restored by Mr. Thom Joven.

One of my best santo finds of the year began with a search on the country’s leading online buy-and-sell site: sulit.com.ph. There, I found a vintage wooden San Jose with ivory mask and hands, a reasonably-priced piece that I quickly acquired.

It turned out that this was just the tip of the iceberg, for the collector-seller, after making his acquaintance, led me next to his antique santo treasures that he was sadly unloading for deep, personal reasons.

He directed me to his personal online site and I was immediately drawn to an exquisite 24 inch carved Immaculate Conception, a three-dimensional copy of Bartolome Murillo’s famous painting of the Blessed Virgin.

It was an almost accurate rendering of the iconic piece—right down to the tilted head of the Virgin, her crossed hands with delicately carved fingers, standing on a cloud based from which protruded the horns of a crescent moon and three small cherubims.

Amazing too, was the coloring of the figure—the encarna is in good condition as well, retaining its warm, pinkish hue despite scruffs and grime.

The antique Virgin was wonderfully preserved with normal wear associated with age, from its 12 star halo, jusi wig, right down to its satin vestments that were accentuated with simple gold embroidery.
In contrast to the fine carve figure, the vestments were rather plain, using synthetic gold colored thread and plastic sequins.

Overall, however, this Imaculada was a stunning, expressive piece—a museum quality santa—and best of all, it was available! I did not even bother negotiating with the seller, knowing that I would be helping him with his predicament.

At the same time, I was grateful too, for the trust that has been given to me, for having been chosen to continue caring for their family heirloom; after all, there were many interested buyers waiting in the wings.

When it was time for me to have Inmaculada restored, I had only one choice for this project which calls for a meticulous eye, skilled hands and an understanding of period styles: the master ecclesiastical artist, Thom Joven.

True, I wanted to have the image restored, but I also want the image to retain its aura of antiquity s, which to me, is the true test of effective restoration.

Fortunately, Thom shared this valid restoration concept, and he agreed to take on this project which took all of 8 months—long by any standard, but certainly worth the wait as the results show.

Much of the restoration involved cleaning the image, patiently done through cleaning it inch-by-inch with a mild cleaning cream.

Meanwhile, the vestments were recreated using old satin fabric stock, and the embroidery was traced and painstakingly copied too, using real gold thread, sequins and gold trims.

The missing parts of the carved cherubs on the base were replaced and the damaged spots were painted over, using the same marbleized paint effects.

The fragile wig was also replaced, replicating not only the length but also the drop of the curls!

Finally, the metalwork was buffed and replated. By the middle of July, it was time to bring the restored Inmaculada Concepcion home.

When I beheld it, she was such a beautiful sight. The draped vestment was perfect in every aspect—from the accurately copied embroidery, to such details such as the red underfabric lining of the cape.

 

 

The Virgin looked authentically antique from top to bottom, remaining true to the original, and to the concept of what true restoration should be.

155. Holy Week Santos: LA SAMARITANA

An uncommon tableau that joins Lenten processions in the Philippine depicts a scene from the ministry of Jesus, as mentioned in John 4:1-40. It narrates Jesus’s meeting with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in the village of Samaria, while travelling north from Jerusalem.

Breaking tradition, Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, a group that Jews never liked. On top of this, Jesus asked her for a drink of water, which took the woman by surprise. Jesus then told the woman he could give her "living water" (referring to the gift of eternal life) so that she would never thirst again.

What’s more, Jesus revealed that he knew she had had five husbands and was now consorting with another who was not her husband. Her curiosity and interest piqued, the woman continued her conversation with Jesus.

Talking about their views on worship, the woman voiced her faith that the Messiah was coming. Jesus answered, "I who speak to you am he." It dawned on the Samaritan who her guest was, so she left behind her jug of water jar, went to the town to invite the people to "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did."

The Samaritan woman is identified as Santa Photina, according to Greek tradition. Moved by her encounter with Jesus, she took to preaching the Gospel and was jailed for doing so. She was finally martyred at Carthage , while another account tells of her death in the 1st century, in Rome at the hands of Nero, together with her sons Joseph and Victor. Sta. Photina’s feast is on March 20.

154. FINDING THE TRUE CROSS

Whether online or in antique shops, the most common religious antiques one finds for sale are crucifixes. Folk art crosses are fixtures in almost all antique fairs I’ve been to, characterized by plain wooden crosses and misshapen Christ figures. More sought after are the classically done tabletop crucifixes, with finely carved wooden Christs and with crosses trimmed with metal fittings.

Other than ivory crucifixes, the prices of such pieces have remained stable—in the range of about Php 7K- Php 15K. The demand is not as high as for free-standing santo as, maybe, for a collector, one good crucifix is enough.

I, myself, am not much of a crucifix fan, but when I see an outstanding example, I take a second look. Just like this example, recently purchased from my favourite antique dealer.

It came in a rather, shabby condition—dirty, dust-coated, with the corpus about to be detached from its arms. 

The dealer told me that the cross finials were of silver, but I couldn’t be too sure—they were blackened with age. So were the potencias and the crown of Christ too, which remained miraculously intact, all these years.

Despite these flaws, the carving of the figure was superb, right down to the gracefully draped loincloth of Christ, his taut and lean body, the elongated arms and hands (with a few missing fingers)and the fine strands of Jesus’long hair.

But what sold me was the haunting facial, pain-filled expression of Christ, made even more lifelikeby by his glassy stare. His mouth was open in anguish. How the carver managed to put such intense emotion into that small wooden face, I will never know.

For 3 days, I set about cleaning the crucifix, using Wipe Out and lots of cotton buds. More challenging was restoring the shine of the silver finials, which had ingrained dirt all over. At least two hours of metal polishing and dirt-scraping did the trick.

The corpus itself was easy to clean. After Wipe-Out, I lightly coated the body with brown shoe polish, which further deepened the “Nazareno”color of Christ and added a nice sheen to the lines.

The crucifix came with a damaged replacement base, but I had an unused stone base that was more appropriate to the piece. The mound was a bit small though, and not very stable, but it would have to do, in the meantime.

My dealer, by the way, also told me that the original owner of the crucifix claimed that the piece was the handiwork of Maximo Vicente’s talyer. You always take these revelations with a grain of salt, but regardless, this crucifix ranks as another one of my most wonderful finds, you agree?

153. Santo Stories: SAN PANCRACIO

One of the lesser known saints venerated in the Philippines is the young Roman St. Pancras (St. Pancratius, San Pancracio). Little is known about this young boy of 14 who was reared by a Christian uncle and who found martyrdom during the persecution of Diocletian who had him beheaded. San Pancracio’s cult became popular in England after St. Augustine of Canterbury dedicated his first church to the young boy saint. In the Philippines, the Paco Cemetery Chapel holds him as its titular patron.

 This saint has a very distinctive iconography. He is often shown in a centurion costume complete with leather sandals, knee-length tunic, draped with a red cloak to symbolize the blood of martyrdom. He holds a book with Latin inscription: "Venite Ad Me et Ego dabo vobis omnia bona." ( "Come to me and I will give you all that is good.")

His right index finger points heavenward indicating that the promise in the book he holds comes from God. Another emblem of his martyrdom is a palm leaf which he also holds close to his body. Large images of San Pancracio are rather rare in the country.

This particular all-wood example, about 48 inches tall, was found in a Bulacan antique shop. It is carved from light wood, with portions of the back hollowed out in two sections to make it lighter when borne in processions.

 Outfitted with glass eyes (one missing), he also has a vintage halo which may not be original to the piece. The original paint is intact with the usual age scruffs and minor paint loses. There are some damages to his fingers and to the base. I was told that this San Pancracio came from an old visita in Makati, but that could not be verified.

******

 O glorious St. Pancratius, 

I beg thee to obtain for me all the graces that I need, 

but especially health and work, 

so that I may appear before thee to thank God 

for the favors I received through your powerful intercession. 

Amen.

152. A View to a Skill: PIECING A CRUCIFIXION BOTTLE PUZZLE

One of the more fascinating religious folk art that we adopted from the West are the so-called Crucifixion Bottles that were popular among whittlers and craftsmen in Europe and America in the 19th century. They are variations of bottled wooden whimseys that included the popular ships-in-bottle, a tradition that remains to this day.

Tradition has it that Crucifixion Bottles were made by Bilibid prisoners as part of their rehabilitation, starting at the start of the 20th century. Inside a bottle was constructed a whole Calvary scene, complete with the principal stick figure of crucified Christ shown surrounded by similar santo figures of Mary, St. John, the 3 Maries, and Roman soldiers. It was believed that prisoners passed the long lonely hours by skillfully putting together these disparate santo pieces inside a bottle, reflecting on Christ’s sufferings as they did so. Once finished, these bottles were sold as cheap religious souvenirs.

 One weekend, I was looking for antique bottles to add to my collection at my dealer’s Cubao warehouse when I saw this medium size clear bottle with what seemed to be dirty paper shreds inside it. A closer examination showed that it was an old crucifixion bottle as I could see disassembled stick figures inside, all mixed up with the flotsam and whatever jetsam was inside.

Of course, I asked the dealer a trick question, asking what the bottle originally contained—and he answered vaguely that it held some kind of a religious relic. Hence, he says, it’s more expensive than his other bottles—I could have it for a thousand bucks. Well, I ended up getting it for the same price as his regular bottles, and immediately went home with my find, lest my dealer changes his mind. I earmarked this for my week-end project—I am sure I could restore this old Crucifixion Bottle, I have done so in the past.

 Day One: I had to remove the contents of the 500 mL clear medicine bottle, which was consistent with other crucifixion bottles I have seen. With sloping shoulders and a wide, flat front and back side, these bottles were ideal for assembling sets of figures inside.

Using a long barbecue stick plus tweezers, I managed to remove the messy contents of the bottle. The dirty shredded paper were actually placed to hide the calvary base, although the more common fillers were cotton balls, to create a “heavenly effect”.

 Disentangled from this dirty mess were three Calvary stick figures made of softwood, consisting of the Crucified Christ (surprisingly complete!!), Virgin Mary and a Roman soldier (very rare figure!).

There were remnants of the Cross too—the anchor was intact, but the Cross itself was missing the main bar. I cleaned up the figures using a regular paint brush and reinforced loose elements (like broken base bar, the soldier’s sword and Mary’s cape) with gel glue. I also replaced the missing parts from wood scraps recycled from an old crate.

 Now, comes the most difficult part—assembling the pieces inside the bottle. I was prepared with an assortment of “tools”—mainly, barbecue sticks of different sizes, skewers, plastic paleta, tweezers, even bent paper clips! I had previously studied the order in which the parts were laid out on the bottle and I began with lining the inside bottom of the bottle with brown paper, which I glued using dabs of gel glue (perfect for such project, it doesn’t run quickly!) applied with the flattened end of a barbecue stick.

 Next, I assembled the cross bars—one bar at a time—a fairly easy thing to do as the bottle was still empty; you could still move things around and fasten them using the same barbecue stick-with-glue technique. As this was going to anchor the cross, the cross bars had to be locked and glued securely, which meant waiting for the glue to dry—overnight.

 On Saturday morning, I was ready to put the Roman soldier and the Mary figure inside the bottle. There were hole marks to guide me in positioning the figures. I knew that the soldier stood at the left of the Cross, while Mary stood in front (for all we know, this was a Magdalene figure!). For better visibility of Christ, I decided to relocate Mary on the right, where I had already punched a hole to slip in the figure, which had a peg on her feet, fashioned from a toothpick! Again, more waiting followed for the glue to set firmly.

 After lunch, I was all set to put in the spar of the cross, which I did successfully in one go. The T-bar was more of a challenge as it already had the dangling arms of Christ, attched with very fine nails. I had to force it down the narrow neck of the bottle, then, I had to balance the bar on the spar, and coax it into position. After several tries, I succeeded—the dovetailing was perfect! A few dabs of glue and the cross was up!

By late afternoon, the glue was sufficiently dry, so I pasted the rays of the cross (made from brown paper and trimmed with gold glitter) on the back , to further reinforce its construction. Next came another critical part of the assembly—putting the armless body of Christ onto the spar of the cross, then coaxing the two thin arms in place so that the ends could be inserted into the shoulder sockets of Christ.

One really needs a steady hand to do this as it entails balancing the body on the narrow cross. I lined the cross with gel glue then pushed Christ’s body using a pair of tweezers. Even with glue, Christ would fall from the spar of the cross; thank God, the paper burst broke its fall many times. 

The next problem was inserting the arms into the shoulder sockets. I had practiced this on the Christ figure outside of the bottle, and the arm fitted like a glove with one push. Inside the bottle, with less space to work on, it was very difficult. I would lift one arm using a slender stick, pull up the body with a skewer, and the body would fall, again and again.

 After a dozen tries and with my patience running out, I decided not to insert the arms anymore and opted to lay them on the cross, almost touching Christ’s body. From the front, one could see Christ hanging from the cross alright, but from the side, you could see that the arms are not exactly attached to the body. Oh well, that was my best effort.

 To ensure that the arms would not fall and remain in position, I dropped dollops of glue on the nails supporting them. Unlike before, I didn’t rush the drying of the glue; I let the glue set overnight. The next morning, after breakfast, I inspected my handiwork. I still was not happy with the way the arms have turned out, but I know, it could have been worse.

 The last steps included glueing the paper INRI sign on the cross, and covering the base with crumpled strips of very fine papel de japon. For added effect and to weigh down the flimsy paper strips, I dropped in a couple of mother of pearl flowers onto the base of the bottle. To keep the cross from moving, a toothpick was inserted into a hole on the top of the cross; the other end was then inserted into a cork (from an old wine bottle), which was the pushed into the opening which was then dabbed with glue, to seal the bottle permanently.

 It takes very little to creating bottled whimseys—one needs only an empty bottle, glue, a whittling knife, scraps of paper, fabric and wood. Anyone can actually do it, with just a bit of skill, patience and practice. Just take it from the Bilibid prisoners of old, whose rare folksy santo creations in a bottle now command thousands of pesos in antique shops—if you can still find one.