An extremely rare wood sculpture by Jose Rizal is set to be auctioned in June

An extremely rare and historically important wood sculpture by National Hero Jose Rizal is set to be auctioned next month, and who better to have this in their possession than a Filipino art collector?

An oval bas-relief wood sculpture, carved from a single piece of heavy wood — possibly narra — and measuring 39 inches long, 18 and a half inches wide, and 2 and a half inches high, is set to be auctioned on June 9 at Leon Gallery in Makati.

The sculpture features a young man, half-dressed in gym clothes of the time, lifting weights in a typical exercise stance.

The wood sculpture by Jose Rizal

According to a press statement sent by Leon Gallery to GMA News Lifestyle, the sculpture must’ve been accomplished by Rizal sometime between 1892 and 1896, when he was in exile in Dapitan.

At that time, Europeans were obsessed with “physical culture.” and with Rizal's fascination toward all things continental, he depicted the Filipino as virile, muscular, and engaged in a highly civilized, European display of strength.

The sculpture’s provenance stems from the family of Narcisa Rizal, the third sibling of the hero’s family. “Narcisa and her daughter Angelica were frequent visitors to Dapitan, and in fact, would accompany Rizal when he embarked to Manila at the end of his exile from that distant port,” read a portion of the statement.

According to Phil Abadicio of Leon Gallery, this is one of Rizal's works that was hidden in the old Congress building during the war. "They were hidden there because it was the most fortified, and it was also used by the Japanese to hide during the end of the war. The Americans heavily bombarded the building, so what's left of Rizal's works is extremely rare and historically important. This is one of those works that we wish would end up with a Filipino collector. It should belong to the nation, the Filipino people.” 

The Rizal sculpture is one of the highlights of Leon Gallery’s “Spectacular Mid-Year Auction”, which starts at 2pm on June 9. More here. — LA, GMA News