Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buenviaje
The Encarnacion - delos Reyes Virgen
Virgin – 18th Century
Base of Virina – early 19th Century
Ivory, Wood, Kamagong, Glass, Gold, Gold Thread, White Sapphires& Gold Leaf
Virina: 38 1/2” x 26 1/2” (00 cm x 00 cm)
Virgin: 26”x 16”(00 cm x 00 cm)
Starting bid: P 500,000
Provenance:
Encarnacion-de los Reyes Family
Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Vigan is famous for the superlative quality of its ivory santos with their gilded bases and gold-embroidered vestments. This image of the Virgin Mary is one of the best in terms of quality of workmanship.
This 18th century statue with its face and hands carved out of ivory depicts the Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buenviaje aka La Virgen de Antipolo. She wears a wig made out of human hair and has a beautifully wrought crown of 22-kt gold set with white sapphires. The crown is somewhat small for the size of the head, but the workmanship is delicate and exquisite.
The body of the statue is ‘de bastidor’, meaning that upper part of the torso is attached to a wooden frame over which the skirt is laid. The Virgin is clothed in tisu de oro or cloth-of-gold which is completely overlaid with almost three-dimensional gold embroidery. This kind of embroidery is unique to the Philippines and is described in Spain as ‘estilo filipino’.
The statue stands on an 18th century oval peana or base with a waist resting on a hexagonal footcarved with acanthus leaf moldings on all the edges.Flanges on either side of the base are carved with a pierced foliate design of acanthus leaf scrolls with sampaguita flowers typical of Ilocos. The body of the base with its marbling and completely gilded carved borders and carvings are still in pristine condition.
The statue is encased in an oval, hand-blown glass dome or virina with a kamagong base of the same shape resting on four ball feet. A cymatium molding running around the bottom of the base is surmounted by a wide, pierced and gilded frieze of miniature arches with tops and bottoms of intertwined ribbons. An entablature with cymatium moldings above and below surmounts the frieze. The statue originally stood on top of the kamagong base under a tall glass dome or virina. Sometime during the 1st decades of the 20th century, the dome was broken and was replaced by the shorter one seen today. In order to accommodate it, the top of the kamagong base was removed, so that the Virgin could be inserted into the base in order to be protected by the new virina. Consequently, the beautiful 18th century peana of the santo was hidden from view. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr
Lot 206 of the Leon Gallery auction on 5 December 2015. Please see www.leon-gallery.com for more details.
Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buenviaje
The Encarnacion - delos Reyes Virgen
Virgin – 18th Century
Base of Virina – early 19th Century
Ivory, Wood, Kamagong, Glass, Gold, Gold Thread, White Sapphires& Gold Leaf
Virina: 38 1/2” x 26 1/2” (00 cm x 00 cm)
Virgin: 26”x 16”(00 cm x 00 cm)
Starting bid: P 500,000
Provenance:
Encarnacion-de los Reyes Family
Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Vigan is famous for the superlative quality of its ivory santos with their gilded bases and gold-embroidered vestments. This image of the Virgin Mary is one of the best in terms of quality of workmanship.
This 18th century statue with its face and hands carved out of ivory depicts the Nuestra Senora de la Paz y Buenviaje aka La Virgen de Antipolo. She wears a wig made out of human hair and has a beautifully wrought crown of 22-kt gold set with white sapphires. The crown is somewhat small for the size of the head, but the workmanship is delicate and exquisite.
The body of the statue is ‘de bastidor’, meaning that upper part of the torso is attached to a wooden frame over which the skirt is laid. The Virgin is clothed in tisu de oro or cloth-of-gold which is completely overlaid with almost three-dimensional gold embroidery. This kind of embroidery is unique to the Philippines and is described in Spain as ‘estilo filipino’.
The statue stands on an 18th century oval peana or base with a waist resting on a hexagonal footcarved with acanthus leaf moldings on all the edges.Flanges on either side of the base are carved with a pierced foliate design of acanthus leaf scrolls with sampaguita flowers typical of Ilocos. The body of the base with its marbling and completely gilded carved borders and carvings are still in pristine condition.
The statue is encased in an oval, hand-blown glass dome or virina with a kamagong base of the same shape resting on four ball feet. A cymatium molding running around the bottom of the base is surmounted by a wide, pierced and gilded frieze of miniature arches with tops and bottoms of intertwined ribbons. An entablature with cymatium moldings above and below surmounts the frieze. The statue originally stood on top of the kamagong base under a tall glass dome or virina. Sometime during the 1st decades of the 20th century, the dome was broken and was replaced by the shorter one seen today. In order to accommodate it, the top of the kamagong base was removed, so that the Virgin could be inserted into the base in order to be protected by the new virina. Consequently, the beautiful 18th century peana of the santo was hidden from view. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr
Lot 206 of the Leon Gallery auction on 5 December 2015. Please see www.leon-gallery.com for more details.