Maximo Viola: Ten-Seater Dining Set
Máximo Viola (1857 - 1933)
A very rare and exceptional 10-seater
dining table in balayong and
kamagong with chairs
1st quarter, 20th century
Manila
Table: 79 X 224 X 100 cm (31 X 80 1/2 X 39 1/2 in)
Chairs: 120 X 44.5 X 40 cm (47 X 17 1/2 X 16 in) each
Estimate: PHP 750,000 - 950,000
Lot 184 of the Salcedo Auctions auction in March 2020. Please see salcedoauctions.com for more information.
Máximo Viola was an eminent doctor and close friend in Europe of National Hero Jose Rizal, who is most famously known for funding the initial print run of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. One of the leading lights of the Propaganda Movement, on his return to the Philippines, Viola was suspected by the Spanish authorities of supporting the secessionists and later imprisoned by the American colonial government.
The other side of Viola’s renown is perhaps not as well known, with the exception of the country’s most elite, ilustrado circles at the turn of the century, where he was a byword for luxury bespoke furniture, renowned and respected - having in fact received numerous exposition awards - for working with the rarest and most precious of Philippine hardwoods, foremost of which was kamagong.
This lavish dining table, fit for local nobility, and accompanied by a set of 10 equally ornate single chairs, is a rare discovery - a complete collection of pieces by the master craftsman of the highest quality.
The table’s design is guided by stylistic affinities of Rococo Revival, with auspicious accents decorating every possible surface tastefully, gilding every corner of the set with motifs representing wealth and rich bounty. It is framed by an excellent rope pattern, fish and birds surrounding the gorgeously sectioned top embellished by elaborate inlay; while its surface top is a combination of balayong, another very rare hardwood, and kamagong, further decorated by kamagong inlay. The apron is a cornucopian collection of vine swaddled fruits ranging from macopa, bayabas, grapes, balimbing, kasuy, granada, to name a few - each carved with an intense dedication to detail.
The accompanying chairs share the same superlative quality of carving. The intricate ‘lusutan’ details decorating each chair with their own unique selection of harvest are sublime, while their dimensions are fully realized through the front and back, forming an infinity or ‘8’ pattern that is not lost upon discerning admirers of this furniture set. The nature-inspired detailing is supplemented by a crown of acanthus and similarly decorated legs, which section off alongside their stretchers.
Boasting a stellar provenance, having once belonged to the Padilla family of Manila, an influential family whose influential history traces back to their line of businesses dating to the 1800s, the table set was acquired from the Padilla ancestral home, which still stands on its original plot in the Quiapo district having now been refurbished into a heritage museum and art gallery. The house itself is said to be one of the oldest surviving ilustrado dwellings in the capital, having been built around the 1880s. Like the ancestral abode it once served in, this Máximo Viola dining set is of the highest pedigree in every manner - material, history, and craftsmanship. Viola himself is well known to have cultivated a friendship with Nicanor Padilla, who would later inherit the house and its distinguished contents. Of excellent condition and exceeding rarity - the maker was known to take months to complete just one furniture piece - this unmatched legacy set is without a doubt a collector’s dream, fulfilled.
Maximo Viola: Ten-Seater Dining Set
Máximo Viola (1857 - 1933)
A very rare and exceptional 10-seater
dining table in balayong and
kamagong with chairs
1st quarter, 20th century
Manila
Table: 79 X 224 X 100 cm (31 X 80 1/2 X 39 1/2 in)
Chairs: 120 X 44.5 X 40 cm (47 X 17 1/2 X 16 in) each
Estimate: PHP 750,000 - 950,000
Lot 184 of the Salcedo Auctions auction in March 2020. Please see salcedoauctions.com for more information.
Máximo Viola was an eminent doctor and close friend in Europe of National Hero Jose Rizal, who is most famously known for funding the initial print run of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. One of the leading lights of the Propaganda Movement, on his return to the Philippines, Viola was suspected by the Spanish authorities of supporting the secessionists and later imprisoned by the American colonial government.
The other side of Viola’s renown is perhaps not as well known, with the exception of the country’s most elite, ilustrado circles at the turn of the century, where he was a byword for luxury bespoke furniture, renowned and respected - having in fact received numerous exposition awards - for working with the rarest and most precious of Philippine hardwoods, foremost of which was kamagong.
This lavish dining table, fit for local nobility, and accompanied by a set of 10 equally ornate single chairs, is a rare discovery - a complete collection of pieces by the master craftsman of the highest quality.
The table’s design is guided by stylistic affinities of Rococo Revival, with auspicious accents decorating every possible surface tastefully, gilding every corner of the set with motifs representing wealth and rich bounty. It is framed by an excellent rope pattern, fish and birds surrounding the gorgeously sectioned top embellished by elaborate inlay; while its surface top is a combination of balayong, another very rare hardwood, and kamagong, further decorated by kamagong inlay. The apron is a cornucopian collection of vine swaddled fruits ranging from macopa, bayabas, grapes, balimbing, kasuy, granada, to name a few - each carved with an intense dedication to detail.
The accompanying chairs share the same superlative quality of carving. The intricate ‘lusutan’ details decorating each chair with their own unique selection of harvest are sublime, while their dimensions are fully realized through the front and back, forming an infinity or ‘8’ pattern that is not lost upon discerning admirers of this furniture set. The nature-inspired detailing is supplemented by a crown of acanthus and similarly decorated legs, which section off alongside their stretchers.
Boasting a stellar provenance, having once belonged to the Padilla family of Manila, an influential family whose influential history traces back to their line of businesses dating to the 1800s, the table set was acquired from the Padilla ancestral home, which still stands on its original plot in the Quiapo district having now been refurbished into a heritage museum and art gallery. The house itself is said to be one of the oldest surviving ilustrado dwellings in the capital, having been built around the 1880s. Like the ancestral abode it once served in, this Máximo Viola dining set is of the highest pedigree in every manner - material, history, and craftsmanship. Viola himself is well known to have cultivated a friendship with Nicanor Padilla, who would later inherit the house and its distinguished contents. Of excellent condition and exceeding rarity - the maker was known to take months to complete just one furniture piece - this unmatched legacy set is without a doubt a collector’s dream, fulfilled.