Brace for a monumental celebration of Philippine arts and history at the world-famous León Gallery as it puts together a year-end auction block featuring an insanely chronicled set of lots that will coincide with the commemoration of Bonifacio Day.
Jose Rizal’s artistic impression of Josephine Bracken in a deep slumber, together with the last surviving Katipunan seal and a Guillermo Tolentino bust of Andres Bonifacio, will headline León Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction happening on the 30th of November.
LAST KATIPUNAN SEAL
Bannering the Kingly Treasures Auction on November 30 is Sello del Katipunan, the last surviving seal of the revolutionary organization founded and led by Andres Bonifacio, the life and legacy of whom the country is celebrating on auction day.
What is ‘Sello del Katipunan,’ and why is it important? Consider it the last living tangible emblem that gives the present a glimpse of how classified information was officially conveyed during the revolution.
“It is an important testament to the legacy of Andres Bonifacio as the Father of the Himagsikan, so even after namatay na siya tuloy-tuloy pa rin ang Katipunan. Tuloy ang laban,” shared Lisa Guerrero Nakpil, a history nerd and a curator at the León Gallery.
It is a 3-inch round brass metal stamp engraved with two sets of words: “Mataas na Sanggunian,” and “Katipunan ng Mga Anak ng Bayan” separated by two 5-pointed stars.
At the Seal’s center is a sun surrounded by finely detailed rays that house an ancient Tagalog symbol for Ka, which, according to Guerrero Nakpil, denotes ‘Katipunan’ and ‘Kalayaan.’
The round stamp is attached to a solid wooden handle that features softly chiseled curves for a narrow body and wide base– almost shaped like a chess piece.
The 1897 relic, a gift by Julio Nakpil to Filipino scholar and politician Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, features a design that is both uniquely simple and simply unique, crafted possibly with the deliberate intention of making it handy and low-key without compromising a level of intricacy that matched the organization’s status.
“The Nakpil family were jewelers eh– marurunong sila mag-cast. And of course it has to be small para madadala lang nila sa pocket, maitatago… You cannot just manufacture that. This is metal works, and pinong-pino yung lines,” explained Guerrero Nakpil.
How did Leon Gallery get their hands on this relic? The heirs of Pardo de Tavera, who acquired the seal as a gift from Katipunan leader Julio Nakpil, decided to have the historical item up for auction at the famous León Gallery.
“The heirs of Trinidad Pardo de Tavera– they were the ones who approached us and offered to put this lot up for auction,” Gallery owner and director Jaime Ponce de Leon told GMA Regional TV News.
“JOSEPHINE SLEEPING”
Even the astoundingly genius mind of Jose Rizal could not escape the arbitrary hooks of love. And hooked Rizal got when he met his Ultima Amor Josephine L. Bracken, the subject of this treasured sculpture that will co-headline the November 30 auction event.
What is ‘Josephine Sleeping,’ and why is it important? The sculpture is the ultimate love of Jose Rizal’s life in the form of a delicately sculpted plaster in Paris, made small only in scale but not in its value to the enduring legacy of the nation’s ‘First Filipino.’
“Pwede natin matawag itong– if Da Vinci has Mona Lisa, this is Rizal’s Mona Lisa. Josephine Bracken is the Mona Lisa to Rizal, so in terms of significance, this is of such importance to Rizal as an artist,” said Jaime Ponce de Leon.
“Josephine Sleeping” is a 6x24x7-centimeter depiction of his beloved while she’s in a beautiful slumber– a priceless fragment of Rizal’s clever imagination, carved out of passion for Bracken and chiseled in boredom during his exile in Dapitan.
Making it even more special is Rizal’s engraved signature at the bottom left of the item, just below the rested torso of Josephine Bracken.
“Josephine Sleeping” is a clear testament to Jose Rizal’s unparalleled brilliance in the many forms of artistry that he was into, one of which is sculpting.
How did Leon Gallery get their hands on this relic? The family of Jose Rizal’s sister Narcisa, who originally owned the lot, has decided it is time to put up for auction one of the National Hero’s last sculptural works.
According to Ponce de Leon, having worked with the family of Narcisa before, the trust and confidence is already there when it comes to monumental pieces like this.
“In this case, we already have a relationship with the family of Narcisa Rizal because this is the third sculpture we are selling for the family: the first was the lechon tray, then the Jabali, and now the most important one is Josephine Bracken,” he said.
The Kingly Treasures Auction will start at 2:00 p.m. on November 30 at the León Gallery (Eurovilla 1, Rufino Cor. Legaspi Street, Legazpi Village, Makati City).
