Ah Tay Bed -- Detail
An Ah Tay half-tester bed
Last Quarter, 19th century, Manila
Narra, cane or solihiya
272 x 225 x 137 cm (107 x 88 x 54 in)
In the past household items like beds, especially with canopies, were an important symbol of wealth because only the richest families could afford them. In 18th century Europe, stately homes would have majestic four-post or half-tester beds with the most lavish decorations and draperies. In the Philippines, by late 19th century, half-tester beds with Renaissance design elements became “de rigueur,” but only among the most opulent with the grandest homes. Renaissance-style incorporated elements from ancient Greece and Rome: large proportions, rectilinear shapes, columns, pediments, cornices, arabesques, etc. Don Julian Montilla (born 1831) established Hacienda Trinidad in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental and named it after his wife.
The hacienda covered up to thousands of hectares for growing sugar canes and manufacturing centrifugal sugar. During the second World War, Japanese soldiers burned the house in the hacienda to the ground. This bed would have been lost in perpetuity if not for the bravery of the farm workers who pulled this bed from the galloping fire and carried it to safety in the middle of the cane fields. It would have been a tragic loss. This bed was made by famed Chinese furniture maker, Ah Tay, who had a workshop in Binondo, Manila. Rising from a rail of stubby urn spindles at the bottom of the headboard, a big rectangular plank is flanked by carved flanges. A Roman-style pediment has a scroll and shield cartouche at the center and interlaced foliage, then topped by pierced crest with an inscribed palm frond surrounded by foliated C-scrolls. Protruding from the posts are carved brackets that help support the soaring D-shaped canopy.
The frieze and cornice are decorated, and so are the projections from the bends accentuated with a bulbous urn finial and a turnip drop finial. Surmounted on top is a crest similar to that on the headboard. The footboard has similar design elements as the headboard. Below the arch at the center is an inscribed highly stylized monogram. The posts topped with steeple-turned finials terminate in feet mounted by bulbous, perfectly-shaped kalabasa or squash, Ah Tay’s trademark carved signature. One-piece woven cane or solihiya serves as sleeping surface. The bed is in overall very good condition. Several design elements can be seen used as gadrooning on various areas, all done lavishly and masterfully.
A similar bed, though with some design variations, owned by the Lacson family of Negros (related to the Montillas), is featured on page 38 of the book Household Antiques & Heirlooms by Felice Sta. Maria.A legacy from the first sugar baron of Negros Island. Aristocratic and elegant, measuring close to a double / full size, and with craftsmanship and hallmarks of a master artisan unrivalled up to this time
Provenance: Heirs of Don Julian Montilla
Estimate: PHP 800,000 - 850,000
Lot 421 of the Salcedo Auctions auction on 22 September 2018. Please see www.salcedoauctions.com for more information.
Ah Tay Bed -- Detail
An Ah Tay half-tester bed
Last Quarter, 19th century, Manila
Narra, cane or solihiya
272 x 225 x 137 cm (107 x 88 x 54 in)
In the past household items like beds, especially with canopies, were an important symbol of wealth because only the richest families could afford them. In 18th century Europe, stately homes would have majestic four-post or half-tester beds with the most lavish decorations and draperies. In the Philippines, by late 19th century, half-tester beds with Renaissance design elements became “de rigueur,” but only among the most opulent with the grandest homes. Renaissance-style incorporated elements from ancient Greece and Rome: large proportions, rectilinear shapes, columns, pediments, cornices, arabesques, etc. Don Julian Montilla (born 1831) established Hacienda Trinidad in Pontevedra, Negros Occidental and named it after his wife.
The hacienda covered up to thousands of hectares for growing sugar canes and manufacturing centrifugal sugar. During the second World War, Japanese soldiers burned the house in the hacienda to the ground. This bed would have been lost in perpetuity if not for the bravery of the farm workers who pulled this bed from the galloping fire and carried it to safety in the middle of the cane fields. It would have been a tragic loss. This bed was made by famed Chinese furniture maker, Ah Tay, who had a workshop in Binondo, Manila. Rising from a rail of stubby urn spindles at the bottom of the headboard, a big rectangular plank is flanked by carved flanges. A Roman-style pediment has a scroll and shield cartouche at the center and interlaced foliage, then topped by pierced crest with an inscribed palm frond surrounded by foliated C-scrolls. Protruding from the posts are carved brackets that help support the soaring D-shaped canopy.
The frieze and cornice are decorated, and so are the projections from the bends accentuated with a bulbous urn finial and a turnip drop finial. Surmounted on top is a crest similar to that on the headboard. The footboard has similar design elements as the headboard. Below the arch at the center is an inscribed highly stylized monogram. The posts topped with steeple-turned finials terminate in feet mounted by bulbous, perfectly-shaped kalabasa or squash, Ah Tay’s trademark carved signature. One-piece woven cane or solihiya serves as sleeping surface. The bed is in overall very good condition. Several design elements can be seen used as gadrooning on various areas, all done lavishly and masterfully.
A similar bed, though with some design variations, owned by the Lacson family of Negros (related to the Montillas), is featured on page 38 of the book Household Antiques & Heirlooms by Felice Sta. Maria.A legacy from the first sugar baron of Negros Island. Aristocratic and elegant, measuring close to a double / full size, and with craftsmanship and hallmarks of a master artisan unrivalled up to this time
Provenance: Heirs of Don Julian Montilla
Estimate: PHP 800,000 - 850,000
Lot 421 of the Salcedo Auctions auction on 22 September 2018. Please see www.salcedoauctions.com for more information.