Santo Found.... San Pablo / St. Paul 18th Century FILIPINO. Tagbilaran, Bohol. Molave with gilding and polychromy. Dimensions: 157 cm x 54 cm x 31 cm or 62” x 21 1/4” x 12 1/4” Provenance: Leon Gallery March 2014 Sale Collection of Tony and Cez Gutierrez Manila Oriental Antiques Exhibition, September 22 - 27, 1981 Bodega Antiques Tagbilaran Church, Bohol When the Jesuits completed the Church of Tagbilaran, Bohol in 1767, they enshrined the image of San Jose Labrador (St. Joseph the Worker) on the main altar as its patron saint. The following year they were expelled from all Spanish and French Dominions, and the religious care of the province was turned over to the Augustinian Recollects. An earthquake destroyed the church in 1798 and it was only in 1839 that work on its reconstruction began and continued on until 1855. The reconstructed church was built in the Neo-Classical Style then in vogue. In the late 1960s, due to the great increase in the number of parishioners, modernization of the Church began. Many of the old images were sold to a dealer from Apalit, Pampanga, including a set of twelve apostles that belonged to the earlier Jesuit church. These life-sized molave images were meant to be seen frontally, so they were carved only three-quarters in the round, with their backs mostly concave. Many antique collectors wanted them, but had a problem with finding a place to display the twelve. In the end, they were dispersed among several collectors. The statue above is that of San Pablo. He was not actually one of the twelve apostles, but was so zealous in spreading the Word of God that he is numbered among them and ranked with St. Peter in importance. The two are often placed together in the front of almost every Church. The piece is definitely of the 18th century and is unusual because the saint is portrayed with a short tunic, rather than the usual floor-length one. St. Paul is always portrayed carrying a book to signify his writings and a sword, the symbol of his martyrdom. The sword is now missing. The carving of the hair is very interesting and displays the inventiveness of the Boholano santero. The image was originally poly-chromed and gilded, of which large traces remain.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 16:16:45 +0000
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