The Tionco Aparador mid-19th Century Kamagong Dimensions: H: 84 1/4 x L: 53 x W: 24 (214 cm x 135 cm x 61 cm) Provenance: Sold at Leon Gallerys 20 June 2014 Sale. Tiongco Family of Sta. Rosa, Laguna Note: The Tionco Aparador did not break the record for the Arnedo aparador. But the total price of P6,600,000.00 hammer price + premiums is not too shabby!!! Kamagong (Diospyros philippinensis), a type of ebony, has always been highly prized, not only because of the hardness and beauty of its wood, but also because of its rarity. Several varieties, like the mabolo (Diospyros blancoi) with its black heartwood and the bulong aeta with pinkish streaks running through the black wood, are found in the Philippines. Kamagong was ideal for making carved furniture, since the density of its grain enabled the carvings to be made as crisp and thin as possible. Its hardness, however, made it very difficult to work with and required frequent sharpening of plane blades and chisels. This made its production time-consuming and thus more expensive. Furthermore, artisans did not enjoy working with it, as the fine sawdust not only irritated the eyes, but also went into the pores of the skin and made it very itchy. This 2-door aparador belongs to the Tiongcos, one of the most prominent families of Sta. Rosa, Laguna who own several impressive bahay-na bato within the town. This piece comes from one of their houses and is exceptional because of the elaborate ornate carvings that decorate the doors, frieze and crest of the piece. Console feet carved with an acanthus scroll jut out from the chamfered corners and are joined by a pierced apron carved with a meandering foliate design. The base of the cabinet supports a wide drawer carved with three joined lozenges outlined in line molding, the two outer ones each a cast iron drawer pull. Jutting out on either side of the drawer is a colonette base decorated with carved foliage on the front and the sides. Unique and unusual column shafts from one piece of wood flank the doors. From their turned circular base, four round bars spiral upward independent of each other to meet at the neck of an attenuated Corinthian capital. The whole is an intricate and masterful oeuvre probably inspired by similar work done on Chinese ivory puzzles. The three interior shelves with two small drawers beneath the middle shelf are covered by two framed paneled doors with arced tops. The door panels are carved with a polygonal reserve with the outer portions carved with meandering vines of grapes and leaves. The arced cornice above the doors is appliqued with a carved frieze featuring a cross within a beaded circle within a laurel wreath. Pierced, symmetrical carving of fruiting grape vines flank each side and a rosette decorates each end of the frieze. The crest is surmounted by a corona imperial with fluttering ribbons beneath. Symmetrical pierced, foliate scrolls flank the crown and become smaller as they flow gracefully downward to the corner of the frontispiece. These unusual colonettes were used as architectural decoration in some very rich 19th century houses in San Pablo, Laguna, where they served as columnillas of windows or to decorate grand portals of large salas. This is the only known example of it being used on a full-sized aparador. A bed from Calaca, Batangas (in an important private collection) also made use of such a column as a bedpost, but it and this aparador are the only known pieces of furniture in the country that feature them.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 19:26:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015