Mesa Altar
Mesa Altar
18th Century
Balayong Wood, Hand-Forged Iron and Brass
H:37” x L:54” x W:26 1/2 (94 cm x 137 cm x 67 cm)
P 400,000
Provenance: Guagua, Pampanga
Lot 43 from the September 2014 Leon Gallery auction. For details, please see www.leon-gallery.com
From the auction catalogue:
During the 1st century of Spanish rule, Philippine houses, like their Iberian counterparts, hardly had any furniture. A single bed, a lone table and a solitary straight-backed chair for the master of the house were considered adequate. Cabinets were very rare
and the few articles of clothing were usually kept in rattan tampipi, covered baskets made in Camarines.
Because every aspect of furniture-making was done by hand, furniture was not only scarce and expensive, but was considered valuable enough to be pawned in case of need, a practice that continued until the end of the 19th century. The only craftsmen capable of making them in the Philippines then were the ‘Sangleyes’ who lived in the Parian outside Intramuros.
Since the Chinese who came to trade called themselves ‘Sangley,’ meaning ‘traveling merchant,’ the name was applied to all Chinese until the end of Spanish rule. The only skilled furniture-makers in the colony, they used Chinese joinery techniques to make furniture without nails. Iron was scarce and was first imported from Mexico and then from China, until iron ore was
discovered and mines developed in Angat, Bulacan in the mid-18th century.
It was but natural for the Sangley artisan to make furniture that he was familiar with, so rustic versions of Ming and Ching Dynasty furniture were made locally. This particular piece made of Balayong wood is an altar table. It has cutwork flanges in front to seemingly support the two wide drawers. The drawers have keyhole shields of hand-wrought iron and are decorated
with iron bosses. The top also rests on cutwork flange supports on either side.
Tables of this type are very rare and are usually found only in the old provinces around Manila.
Mesa Altar
Mesa Altar
18th Century
Balayong Wood, Hand-Forged Iron and Brass
H:37” x L:54” x W:26 1/2 (94 cm x 137 cm x 67 cm)
P 400,000
Provenance: Guagua, Pampanga
Lot 43 from the September 2014 Leon Gallery auction. For details, please see www.leon-gallery.com
From the auction catalogue:
During the 1st century of Spanish rule, Philippine houses, like their Iberian counterparts, hardly had any furniture. A single bed, a lone table and a solitary straight-backed chair for the master of the house were considered adequate. Cabinets were very rare
and the few articles of clothing were usually kept in rattan tampipi, covered baskets made in Camarines.
Because every aspect of furniture-making was done by hand, furniture was not only scarce and expensive, but was considered valuable enough to be pawned in case of need, a practice that continued until the end of the 19th century. The only craftsmen capable of making them in the Philippines then were the ‘Sangleyes’ who lived in the Parian outside Intramuros.
Since the Chinese who came to trade called themselves ‘Sangley,’ meaning ‘traveling merchant,’ the name was applied to all Chinese until the end of Spanish rule. The only skilled furniture-makers in the colony, they used Chinese joinery techniques to make furniture without nails. Iron was scarce and was first imported from Mexico and then from China, until iron ore was
discovered and mines developed in Angat, Bulacan in the mid-18th century.
It was but natural for the Sangley artisan to make furniture that he was familiar with, so rustic versions of Ming and Ching Dynasty furniture were made locally. This particular piece made of Balayong wood is an altar table. It has cutwork flanges in front to seemingly support the two wide drawers. The drawers have keyhole shields of hand-wrought iron and are decorated
with iron bosses. The top also rests on cutwork flange supports on either side.
Tables of this type are very rare and are usually found only in the old provinces around Manila.