While most Filipinos are aware hopefully of
the names Amorsolo, Luna and Hidalgo many of their works in
Cariño’s collection have only come to light recently. There are
other items that are rarer and less well known such as the
sculptures of Felix Pardo de Tavera, brother of Trinidad, who
settled in Argentina or the paintings of Jose Taviel de Andrade,
the lawyer of Dr. Jose Rizal.
Recently at the Metropolitan Museum a book
launch of Cariño and Ner’s Pearl of the Orient: the Philippines
in a Shell (2007) was held together with an exhibition of some
50 pieces of 19th century paintings done on Mother-of-Pearl
(silver-lip pinctada or pinctada maxima), the majority of which
belong to the author. It is certainly a worth-while effort to
see the show – a bit of esoterica perhaps but which may even
inspire a revival of the art form.
The authors postulate that these artworks
were "most likely gift or souvenir items given to foreigners"
which is one reason so many have been found in Spain and is also
the reason why the scenes depicted are generally rural with the
usual bahay kubo or else Filipinas in native costumes.
Aside from painting on them, the shells were
also carved, an art that Filipinos might have learned from the
Chinese immigrants. None of these are signed. Not much is known
about some of the Filipino artists represented despite research
done in libraries in Spain and the Philippines. But what should
prove interesting are the names. Who knows what works of these
artists still exist whether in shells or canvas forgotten in the
provinces?
Little known painters like Baldomero Alonzo
and Tomas Diores y Codilla, a Cebuano painter, whose dates of
birth and death are not even known. An interesting feature of
the Diores samples – bahay kubos set in pastoral scenes – is
their resemblance in style to the Bohol ceiling paintings that
were also done by two Cebuanos.
Personal vignettes are included by Cariño
dealing with his tracking down and acquiring 5 documents (3
letters of Rizal to Capt. Alemany, of the ship Isla de Panay
which was the ship that was to take Rizal to Cuba. The other was
a letter of Pedro Roxas who jumped ship in Singapore. And the
last is a receipt from a lieutenant Tudela acknowledging the
turn-over of Rizal with a folder addressed to the governor of
that province.
Interestingly enough Cariño had earlier
dismissed two shell paintings and kept them under his bed for
four years until Sonia Ner’s identified the signature as that of
Rizal! Those with religious inclinations may appreciate more
Juan Luna’s religious painting of the Immaculate Conception on
shell since it is "the artist’s interpretation of Bartolome
Esteban Murillo’s Immaculate Conception, done in miniature." It
is signed by the artist with a dedication to his teacher, Don
Alejo Vera.
There are other painters other than Filipinos
featured in the book mostly Spaniards like Javier Gomez de la
Serna, Perez Pascual and E. Perez de Castro, the latter having
painted the earliest dated works in the collection (1888). Aside
from the signed works there are unsigned ones featured depicting
a wide variety of subject matter other than typical rural
scenery such as Mayon Volcano, a waterfall; a young girl with
her cat, a Chinese junk and a mermaid. These were mostly by
amateurs given the brush strokes and the unskilled manner of
handling the subject.
The engraved mother-of-pearl shells are all
unsigned, the majority are of landscapes usually rural but most
exhibit highly skilled craftsmanship indicating competence in
carving. They may have been jewelers with access to the proper
tools. Cariño/Ner surmise they were Chinese craftsmen since
carving on shells was already a highly developed art in China
during the 19th century.
Aside from being a handsome book and a collector’s item in
itself (seeing as there are seldom repeats in printing around
here) the work is great reference material for those interested
in scouring antique shops and the countryside for rare
Filipiniana.
