Provenance:
Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno (1857– 1911) and
Doña Luisa Piñeyro de Lugo y Merino (Sra. de Paterno, d. 1897)

Exhibited:
Exposicion General de Las Islas Filipinas, 1887, Palacio de Cristal,
Parque de Retiro, Madrid;
Exposicion Historico-Americana, 1892 alongside the Exposicion
Historico Europe, Palacio de Biblioteca y Museos Nacionales
(National Library and Museums) 1892, Parque de Madrid
(formerly Parque de Retiro), Madrid
Exposicion Historico-Natural y Etnográfica, Palacio de Biblioteca
y Museos Nacionales (National Library and Museums),
Parque de Madrid (formerly Parque de Retiro), Madrid, 1893
Exposición Regional Filipina, Manila, 1895

Literature: Catalogo General de la Expocision Historico- Americana, 1892, Madrid; Section S; No. 82 under “Miscellaneous Objects Crafted with Metal” and described as follows : “A centerpiece shaped to resemble the “anahaw” palm (Livistona), composed of.. a large black coconut, the shell has been worked to look like hives of bees. The palm tree’s roots ate clustered with different herbs. This sculpture was made by the celebrated Filipino architect Cirineo Gaudinez.”

ABOUT THE WORK

In the manner of the 1840s “Palitera”/“Palillera” and traditional Filipino silverwork (mostly from Binondo and Santa Cruz districts in Manila), this native but sophisticated epergne/centerpiece features a halved coconut shell sprouting out of a palm trunk set on round stylized ground supported by Neo–Renaissance/Isabelina plinth and urn feet. Along with the coconut shell, where delectable sweet treats are put during gatherings, fourteen or more well–articulated “Anahaw” leaves of various sizes also sprout out of the trunk. The coconut shell itself also sprouts several smaller anahaw leaves and tiny native flowers in imitation of a small bouquet to top the epergne. To a patriotic Filipino, it is a very charming piece. The article “Un Meseo y un The” in the Spanish “El Correo” newspaper” 22 January 1884 issue reported with bated breath: “Beautiful objects filled each wall and floor of every room and corridor inside La Casa de Molo (Madrid)... On the table was a curious–looking tea set made of coconuts mounted on the precious metals of gold and silver; expensive antique cups and glasses; shells and mother–of–pearl; and a clay bust of the homeowner sculpted by Mariano Benlliure... Other closets held Pedro’s coconut collection which came in all sizes and colors: white, ebony, gray, stained black --- mounted on a clear base and so polished that one wouldn’t recognize them as coconuts. The gold– and silver–rimmed and handled coconut tea set took its place of prominence here.” “Catalogo General de la Exposicion Historico– Americana de Madrid 1892,” Tomo II, Section S, under Miscellaneous Objects Crafted with Metal lists two similar centerpieces to this Coconut and Silver Epergne/ Centerpiece: #82. “A centerpiece shaped to resemble the ‘anahaw’ palm (Livistona), composed of 2 pieces: the 1st in the form of a large black coconut, the 2nd a much smaller white coconut. Their shells have been worked to look like hives with bees. The palm tree’s roots are cluttered with different herbs. It also features the figure of a native woman carrying with her arms a “bilao,” a basket shaped like a wide plate. This sculpture was made by celebrated Filipino architect Cirineo Gaudinez. #83. “A centerpiece, resembling a large coconut with copper base shaped as its tree trunk, with 2 silver branches and vine segments on either side. It is the work of the renowned silversmith from Santa Cruz (Manila), Don Mariano de Jesus.” While Filipinos had been drinking and eating off dried coconut shells for centuries, and that embellishing them with worked silver in the 1870s was a natural step towards their upliftment and gentrification, it was suggested that Pedro Paterno could have also taken inspiration from the traditional Mexican “tecomate” cups for this set: from Mexican dried calabash gourd (Cresentia cujete aka “cuastecomate” and “jicara”) to Filipino dried coconut (Cocos nucifera aka “niyog”). Tecomate cups of dried gourd decorated with silver, a metal plentiful in Mexico, were used for drinking mezcal. Mezcal is a concentrated alcoholic beverage derived from any type of maguey; it is a type of tequila, in the same way that scotch and bourbon are types of whiskey. This innovative centerpiece was most likely commissioned in the 1870s by a homesick Paterno through his sisters from the Santa Cruz or San Sebastian silversmiths --- Deveras, Ygnacios, Pinedas, and Zamoras --- who were all their relatives; his artistic sisters probably supervised its execution --- Agueda, Jacoba, Paz, and Trinidad (Dolores the pianist and composer passed away young). One hundred fifty years later, it still speaks eloquently of Paterno’s profound love for his native Filipinas, a patriotism so deep twenty–three years and more in Spain could only increase, not diminish it. This unusual native epergne/centerpiece was thought lost to time until it resurfaced with a group of singular objects owned by Don Pedro Paterno from the estate of his wife Doña Luisa Piñeyro y Merino in Spain. It was well–documented in photographs as one of the Filipino decorative pieces Paterno used to exhibit in his Filipino pavilions during international expositions. The objects remained in the Piñeyro residence when the childless Paterno couple returned to Filipinas in the 1890s; Doña Luisa passed away in Manila in 1897; Don Pedro passed away 14 years later in 1911. The Piñeyro family did not express any interest to claim anything from Don Pedro’s estate. With its reappearance, the circle of provenance has been completed.