Andres Bonifacio's bust sculpture, 'last' seal of Katipunan up for auction on Bonifacio Day

On the day of commemoration of the Father of the Philippine Revolution, the bust sculpture of Andres Bonifacio and the last seal of Katipunan will be up for auction.

Priced at P400,000, the Bonifacio sculpture inscribed with Baybayin that reads "Bo-ni-pa-[s]-yo"  made by national artist Guillermo Tolentino was among the pieces that will be sold in Leon Gallery's Kingly Treasures Auction 2024.

In an interview with GMA News Online, Lisa Nakpil of the Leon Gallery said that the Filipino hero's bust which will be auctioned on November 30 was made from the original plaster casts used by Tolentino in creating the Bonifacio Monument, commonly known as "Monumento" in Caloocan City.

The Bonifacio piece is part of the collection of renowned historian, Professor Ambeth Ocampo, who acquired it from Paz Raymundo, the widow of Tolentino in the 1980s.

"According to Ambeth, because he met Tolentino, Tolentino was an espiritista so even 'yung paggawa ng Monumento, he (Tolentino) would say that even Bonifacio and the Katipuneros in that monumento would visit him in his dreams and seances," Nakpil told GMA News Online.

Another important historical piece that will be up for bidding is the considered last seal of the Kataastaasang Kagalanggalangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (the Supreme and Most Noble Society of the Sons of the Country)—the secret society which sought Philippine independence from the Spanish colonization.

The 3.81-centimeter seal was engraved with words "Mataas na Sanggunian-Katipunan ng Mga Anak ng Bayan." At the center, it has a Baybayin syllable that reads "Ka" which also serves as a sun that is being surrounded by multiple rays.

The starting price for the seal is at P1.6 million.

Art collector and Leon Gallery founder Jaime Ponce de Leon said the historical piece was offered to be auctioned by the descendants of Trinidad Pardo de Tavera.

The seal has a tag that reads "SEAL OF THE 'KATIPUNAN'" which was written by Pardo de Tavera himself.

Citing information from Pardo de Tavera's family, the seal was a "gift" from Julio Nakpil who was supposedly working for the former.

The seal that is up for bid is a "twin" of the seal that Bonifacio used during the last days of his life.

"We say it's the last because Bonifacio died in May 1987 after the ill-fated election in Tejeros. Before he goes to Cavite to mediate between the Magdalo and Magdiwang, he made an instruction, I will make the 'Mataas na Sanggunian' headed by Isidro Francisco and Julio Nakpil then he goes to Cavite with the twin seal," Lisa Nakpil, a relative of Julio Nakpil herself, said.

Lisa Nakpil cited the last letter of Bonifacio, which was also previously auctioned through Leon Gallery, as a proof that this is the twin of the seal of the father of the KKK.

"May sarili siyang (Bonifacio) seal. He leaves this... 'Yung seal naman ni Bonifacio [was] lost kasi namatay siya but it would look pretty much like this except [Haring-Bayang Katagalugan] written on the sides," she added.

Apart from the two historical pieces, the Leon Gallery will auction artist's portraits of Bonifacio and his brother, Procopio Bonifacio which price starts at P500,000.

Also among the 157 items that will be up for auction is Jose Rizal's sculpture of Josephine Bracken.

Ponce de Leon said the auction will be open to all stakeholders and even the government can participate.

"Everybody can come, everybody can take part which is really the essence because if there are no auctions, things will be sold privately. You will not even know [that it is being sold.] People in power wouldn't know. So the good thing about the auction is it democratizes the selling of things," Ponce de Leon told GMA News Online.

The auction is not only for those who will buy the historical and art pieces.

Ponce De Leon said historians, researchers, and the people in the academe could come to see the historical pieces in person.

"They may not necessarily be buyers but they can check out the pieces, they can see the high resolution images, especially the letters because we always sell a lot of letters from Rizal, from Andres Bonifacio. They can see everything. So we see a lot of researchers come to examine documents and these documents can sometimes change the course of our history," Ponce de Leon said.

The auction will start at 2:00 p.m. on November 30 at Eurovilla 1, Rufino Corner Legaspi Streets, Legazpi Village, Makati City. 

—MGP, GMA Integrated News