Provenance: Manila Workshop of Puyat and Sons

ABOUT THE WORK

Gonzalo Puyat was a poor boy from Guagua, Pampanga who, after finishing the equivalent of 2nd year high school, went to Manila in 1906 to work in a billiard hall in Quiapo. The following year, the Spaniard who owned the billiard hall took cognizance of his industry and decided to lease the billiard hall to him. In 1909, Gonzalo engaged himself in the repair of billiard tables, which he learned by trial and error. He once bought a pool table discarded by an American from Fort McKinley. Unable to resell it after repairing it, he converted the pool table into a smaller utility table which got sold instead. Thus began his furniture business which, because of the quality and workmanship, grew by leaps and bounds. After a billiard table he exhibited at the 1912 Manila Carnival won a Gold Medal and Diploma, Gonzalo Puyat and Sons went on to become the biggest producer of furniture, billiard tables, and bowling alleys in the country. By 1960, it was the biggest furniture maker in the East. This kamagong and narra billiard table was made for the house of a rich man. It is a luxury item because of the materials used and is definitely a rare find. It stands on a trestle-type base with kamagong uprights on narra trestle supports. Tapering flanges with ogee curves and cusps are attached to the either side of the trestles. A pair of longitudinal stretchers connects the legs of the trestles to each other in the middle, while flanges, jigsaw-outlined with ogee curves and cusps, are attached like aprons at the corners. A narra plank shaped like a wide, flat horizontal baluster connects the lower trestle supports to each other in the middle. The top of the billiard table is removable and consists of a narra table frame with a kamagong molding appliqued at the bottom. The top is made of narra with a wide kamagong border appliqued all around to form a cushion for the disks. A hole at each corner of the top has a small drawer below with a turned drawer pull. The table comes with a pair of cue sticks and disks. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr. 123