144. Restoration-Assist: SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS

Thanks to the wonder of cellphone technology, I was one of the first to lay my sight on this antique ivory head-and-hands San Francisco de Asis (St. Francis of Assisi). An antique dealer sent this to me for my consideration and I immediately expressed interest in this well-made treasure sourced from a family in Las Piñas.

The tell-tale stigmata on the hands clearly identified it as the Franciscan saint prone to ecstasy. His left hand was in a clutching position—which meant that it was holding a crucifix at one time, one of his attributes. The other hand would have held a skull, although the saint’s palm had no hole to anchor the skull.

The ivory santo was not perfect though, as the glass eyes were missing and so were the metalworks. The replacement velvet vestments were trimmed with the original embroidery from the old one, marked with a few holes here and there. The base, was also missing, but the dealer assured me that he just forgot to retrieve it from the owners.

I already am a happy owner of a San Francisco de Asis ivory santo which I purchased at Makati Cinema Square at an unbelievably giveaway price. Found in a box with assorted stuff for sale, it was a perfect piece, complete with a brass halo and a banner. To date, it is one of my most remarkable finds.

This San Francisco, however, was iconically different, and I was determined to have it restored by Dr. Raffy Lopez, even if he had a full schedule. As always, I had my way and he agreed to take on the restoration work, with the condition that I give him no deadline. My only instructions were to keep the base intact, as much of the gilding was intact, minus the sheen. I also asked him to improve the cut of the vestments, as I have seen Franciscan santos wearing short capes and something like a cowl.

I always have a way of losing track of my projects and when he texted me early this week to tell me that my San Francisco was ready for pick-up (complete with my, ehemm, bill, which was as reasonable as it could be, given my ‘demands’). He sent me a cellphone photo to give an idea how it turned out to be.

Well, glory be! The newly restored San Francisco De Asis looked very different and much more expressive with his new set of glass eyes.

 On top of his tonsured head, was an antique brass halo which I got from the Heritage Arts in Cubao; it’s a perfect match (well, okay, it was a bit bigger!).

The old but serviceable embroidery were neatly transferred on a brown, softer fabric, and augmented with new ones. The cowl and the short manto were incorporated in the new habit, trimmed with simple gold embroidery at the hems.

I had been keeping the cross from my late Mother’s silver rosary for years now. It had been a birthday gift by a close relative for my mother, and it was etched with the presentation date—1951, which meant that my mother was just 28 when she received this present. The silver beads have been lost, and all that remained was this silver cross with the tiny corpus. When I slipped it in the closed hands of San Francisco, it fit his clutch perfectly!

 So ends another tale of santo restoration for my San Francisco de Asis. But I would not let it end without telling you of my visit to the saint’s hometown in Assissi, Italy back in 2008. I got to walk the streets of Assisis, enter his revered domed church and pray on the floors where he once knelt.

Why, I even got to see his tomb. Whenever I see this santo likeness of him, I know I will always be reminded of that sanctifying pilgrimage, breathing the same air as that extraordinary man of the cloth known to all as San Francisco de Asis!

143. JOSE DAKOYKOY, THE DEAF SCULPTOR OF CEBU

Philippine Free Press, 12 December 1936 p. 32
 By Sol H. Gwekoh

Hard at Work. Surrounded by saints, he always keeps good company.

Where physical defects have been a handicap in the pursuit of happiness and livelihood to a great many unfortunate individuals, to Jose Dakoykoy of Cebu City, they have been a blessing in disguise and an indispensable factor in the attainment of his chosen work.

The fourth son of a family of seven, he accidentally became deaf at an early age. He comes from a family known for its musical talent and artistic taste. His brothers are all musicians, having inherited the art from their father, Marcelo, who attended to the choir of the Augustinian order in the Santo Niño church in Cebu. They now furnish church music and religious music for the traditional and popular novenas in the southern islands.

 Although Jose is deaf, he has not given up his love for art. He embraced early the painting and sculpturing lines, in which, though no Michaelangelo, he does well. From his eldest brothers, he learned to master the brush and palette as well as the chisel.

As a result, for the last 30 years, he has been furnishing Cebu and the neighboring islands with his pastels or miniature images of the different religious characters connected with the life of Jesus Christ in different stages. The rich and the aristocrats as well as the poor go to him for their Belens, especially shortly before Christmas. 

He also does interior decorating and portrait ainting, and designs decorative fancy objects. He works fast and alone throughout the year in his own home which he constructed out of his earnings as a painter-sculptor. Quiet and reserved, Jose leads a peaceful and simple life. To him, cockfighting and gambling, and drinking are mere frivolities.

He is a determined bachelor. Simple and humble as he is, relatively few know of his real talent. Contented with His Art Unschooled in the art and technique of his profession, he is contented and at ease working with crude instruments, principally with a small, sharp knife for shaping objects, and the chelepads of crabs for carving delicate features of images.

From religious and illustrated calendars, he copies his models. From September to December, he is kept busy until late at night when orders for belens from different provinces have to be delievered before the Yuletide season. An ordinary belen of 30 figures sells at between P40 and P60, while the more elaborate, which have bigger characters, cost as much as P150; part of the amount he receives for his productions is distributed to his relatives on Christmas Day.

 Now 54, he still plays native songs—the popular and melodious balitaws—on the guitar, especially at night to comfort him in his solitary life.

142. IMMACULATE HEART OF JESUS & MARY

I took Friday off last week as I thought I needed a longer weekend to recover from the stress of writing, presenting, pre-producing and shooting a couple of commercials. I had not planned on going out on that day—until my Plaridel dealer texted me about some items in his shop “that may be of some interest to me”. I usually dismiss nebulous messages like this—in the past, a dealer had sounded me off about “great vintage paintings” he had, but when I rushed to check, they were just awful paper prints.

When I got there, the first items I saw and, which I eventually took home, was this unusual set of busts representing the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Jesus, in a classic 1950s urna.

The busts, all of 8 inches high, are made of high quality plaster and they have retained their brilliant colors through the years. They are screwed onto the base of the simple, but well-assembled urna.

There are charming home-made flower decorations inside the urna, fashioned from cloth and plastic flowers, with small bottles and caps servings as vases. The backboard of the urna has been pasted on with various estampitas of Agony in the Garden, Virgin of Lourdes and Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

A souvenir fold-out paper fan commemorating the blessing of the Redemptorist Shrine in Baclaran in 1952 (and where Our Lady of Perpetual Help is the center of devotion) is also attached to the backboard.

The excellent condition of the santos and the urna's contents attest to the care that the previous owners had for this private devotional piece and I am fortunate to have acquired it for such a reasonable price.

141. Retro-Santo: NTRA. SRA. DE LA LECHE Y BUEN PARTO

MILK OF KINDNESS. The carved image of Our Lady of the Milk (Ntra. Sra. De La Leche), as shown on a postcard ca, '20s.

Perhaps, one of the most unusual images depicting Mary is the one that shows her breastfeeding the Child Jesus. This imagery may have begun in a 4th c. grotto in Bethlehem that inspired the Franciscans to put up a Milk Grotto shrine. Taking centerstage was the Blessed Virgin nursing the baby Jesus.

Crusaders brought the devotion to Mary as a nursing mother to Spain in the Middle Ages. The original 16 c. image found in Madrid  is credited for saving the life of an expectant mother and her unborn child, which led the couple to keep the image in their home.

Word of the miraculous image under the title Ntra. Sra. De la Leche y Buen Parto (Our Lady of the Milk and Good Delivery) soon spread all over Spain and a shrine was soon built, with King Philip II leading its construction. A replica of the image was brought by Spanish conquistadores to America in Florida in the early 1600s and placed in the very first shrine in the U.S. dedicated to the Virgin Mother.

Statues of Our Lady of the Milk in the Philippines are few and far between, but an early statue rendered of this representation is now the center of national devotion. It originally belonged to Ramon R. Ticzon, who, upon his death in 1999, was bequeathed to Remedios Gonzales, a niece.She successfully was granted permission by Jaime Cardinal Sin to propagate the devotion of Our Lady of the Milk in May 2000, through the organization of Our Lady of the Milk Movement.  The church of Our Lady of Fatima in Mandaluyong houses a replica of this heirloom image.

Prayer for Motherhood:

Lovely Lady of La Leche, most loving mother of the Child Jesus, and my mother, listen to my humble prayer. Your motherly heart knows my every wish, my every need. 

To you only, His spotless Virgin Mother, has your Divine Son given to understand the sentiments which fill my soul. Yours was the sacred privilege of being the Mother of the Savior. 

Intercede with him now, my loving Mother, that, in accordance with His will, I may become the mother of other children of our heavenly Father. 

This I ask, O Lady of La Leche, in the Name of your Divine Son, My Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

140. A Miraculous Makeover: VIRGEN DE LA MEDALLA MILAGROSA

THE RESTORED IMAGE OF OUR LADY OF GRACE. Found in a Bulacan antique shop in a sorry state, this rare 24 in. wooden image was restored and redressed by Dr. Raffy Lopez. Perosnal Collection.

When my favourite antique dealer sent me a photo by phone of a newly-arrived 2-foot santa for my consideration, I really got excited. For here is a very rare image of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, or known by its other title--Our Lady of Grace, the titular patron of our town, Mabalacat. 

Though I already have a 16 in. image, it is a reconstruction, fashioned from an Immaculate Conception santa. But clearly, this larger image is an original Milagrosa, with metal parts unbelievably complete—from the brass rays that emanate from her hands, to her crown and 12-star halo. She still had her sky blue cape in velvet, plus her sparsely embroidered tunic in shabby but stable condition.

Though her encarna had started to flake, one could discern her fine facial details, that can only be described as serenely beautiful.

The santo stood on a base of wood, but the clouds were made from composition or paper mache, reinforced with gauze, which have started to show. A snake lay coiled underfoot, which fortunately was undamaged, right down to the apple in its jaws.

 This was the way that St. Catherine Laboure saw Our Lady in a vision at Rue-de-Bac, France in 1830. She stood with a downcast glance, and was dressed in a blue cape, white mantle and tunic. Rays emanated from her hands, both outstretched at her side. Beneath her feet, a serpent lay crushed and around her were the words ”O, Mary conceived without sin, pray fpr us who have recourse to thee”.

A medal was struck based on this vision, and miracles were soon being wrought. The devotion to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal was introduced by the Vincentian fathers with their arrival in the Philippines in 1860, catching on in popularity in no time at all. Recollects propagated the devotion in our town as early as the 1860s under the title, Ntra. Sra. De la Gracia.

As late as the 1930s, an image of La Virgen Milagrosa had stood on the main altar with her signature rays radiating from her hands, to be replaced in the 1950s with a seated image of a Madonna and Child.

Of course, the restoration of this santo became a top priority project; I immediately brought it to Dr. Raffy Lopez, who lost no time in fixing the image, starting with the base, the body and the repainting of the image.

Dr. Lopez copied the pattern of the existing vestments but did away with the use of heavy velvet; instead, blue and white satin fabrics were used.

 He employed simple but elegant embroidery on Our Lady’s tunic, of mostly floral patterns.

 Outfitted with a new wig and with metal parts polished, La Virgen Milagrosa emerged miraculously beautiful after more than 2 months of restoration, radiant than ever, ready to work her wonders to those who believe, just as she promised St. Catherine Laboure over a hundred years ago.

139. ANGELS OF GOD: From Wingless to Wonderful!

ANGELS OF GOD, MY GUARDIANS DEAR. Two santo angels found in an out-of-the-way antique shop, transformed into San Rafael and San Gabriel, respectively. Personal Collection.

It has happened countless of times: an antique dealer would call to say that that he has unique items just arrived, so if I could rush right over to look at some of them. More often than not, I would be shown commonplace trifles and vintage junk, and I would come away disappointed.

In one such visit to an Apalit dealer, I was once again shown some supposedly “heirloom” antiques—but all I found was an assortment of costume jewelry, new ivory santo heads, damages silver and rosaries with missing beads. Oh yes, there was also a Dolorosa santo that I had seen beforeand some ‘bagong luma’ salakots (native hats).

I thought I would again go home again empty-handed until the dealer brought out two small wooden angels that she had almost forgotten. Small in size, wingless and armless, they were, nonetheless, real antique pieces. They were neatly carved from soft wood, and they had all the classic attributes of a typical angel—right down to their helmetted heads, boots, knee-revealing slit tunics and the cloud bases that served as their peañas.

Examining the two angels made featureless by age, I could only surmise what use they had before. Could they have once graced an old carroza? Or could they have been part of a set of 7 Archangels? Whatever, I thought the two were charming pieces worth collecting—I rarely see such kinds for sale in Manila shops.

For a reasonable amount, I acquired these two angels with a view to have them restored in the future. But impatient that I was, I hurriedly took them to santo restorer, Dr. Raffy Lopez, two weeks after I purchased them. I had two spare gilded bases, so I brought those as well, intending them to be used for their restoration. I had no other instructions except that I requested for plated metal wings for the two.

I pretty much forgot all about the two angels in the next 6 weeks; after all, my mind was on my impending vacation in Australia. But I was kept updated with mms photos sent through my phone. When the call came for me to pick up my two angel santos, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I was wowed, to say the least!

One had been transformed into a San Gabriel, bearer of divine messages--represented by a scroll in one hand and a flower in the other.

Another had become San Rafael, holding a staff from which a silver fish dangled. Both have been repainted and outfitted with silver wings.

Once I brought them home, I placed them on a special shelf in my shoebox house. 

So there they stand guard, flanking an old metal crucifix I found in a yard sale, these two angels of God, once nearly ignored and forgotten, now fully restored succesfully--with flying colors!

138. Retro-Santo: SANTIAGO MATAMOROS

SWEET SAINTLY JAMES. A fine processional statue of Santiago Matamoros (St. James, the MoorSlayer), depicting the saint trampling on the Moors as he fought in the battle of Clavijo in Spain. Photo dates from 1928.

St. James the Greater, (Santiago) was the son of Zebedee and Salome who became one of disciples of Jesus. He figures in many ancient traditional stories and one of the more popular is his engagement in battle at  Clavijo (Spain, 844) against Muslims, symbol of Reconquista. Saint James, it was said, appeared as a warrior-knight on his white steed holding aloft a white banner as he helped the Christian armies of King Ramiro I in attacks against the Moors. As a result of their victory, St. James has come to be known as "Matamoros".

Santiago is Spain's patron saint, and in the Philippines, he is also the titular patron of such towns as Plaridel (Bulacan), Bolinao (Pangasinan), Betis (Pampanga), Libon (Albay), Ibaan (Batangas) and Dapitan. The famed Fort Santiago in Manila features the wooden relief of the saint is carved on a gateway arch.

The beautiful processional santo of Philippine origin shown above represents the saint vanquishing the Moors. At least three decapitated heads are at the feet of his white horse, excellently carved and outfitted with glass eyes and perhaps, abaca hair for its mane and tail. Santiago is of the articulated manikin type of santo; he wears a human hair wig. On his head is a knight's helmet, decorated with a feathered plume. He brandishes a sword and an embroidered shield in his hands. He wears an elaborated set of gold-embroidered vestments.

Martyred by Herod Agrippa in AD 44, his remainswere transferred to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. Santiago is the patron of veterinarians, equestrians,  pharmacists, tanners and furriers. His Feast Day is December 30.

PRAYER

O Glorious Saint James, because of your fervor and generosity

Jesus chose you to witness his glory on the Mount

and his agony in the Garden.

Obtain for us strength and consolation in the unending struggles of this life.

Help us to follow Christ constantly and generously,

to be victors over all our difficulties,

and to receive the crown of glory in heaven. Amen.