Provenance: Dimatulac family, Batangas

ABOUT THE WORK

This elegant example of a neoclassical “mesa altar” altar table of reddish– purple “tindalo” wood from Batangas province has two thick pieces of the said hardwood for its top with receding moldings on the sides. The solid tabletop is supported by the four legs of the casing, with additional support provided by the four, thick guilloche brackets attached to the top outer sections of the legs which run through the height of the casing (interestingly termed “Olympic” by antique agents and dealers; the repetitive guilloche patterns of interlocking circles/ovals actually originated in the ancient Near East, popularized in Classical Greece and Rome, and were still utilized in Medieval design; the pattern of interlocking circles is also known as the Ming Chain in Chinese art history). There are five drawers, two on top of three, applied with bone line inlay to simulate panels; these are fitted with traditional brass ring pulls. The front of the casing surrounding the five drawers is inset with kamagong strips on which repetitive sequences of carabao bone diamonds, lozenges, and rosettes are inlaid, a Batangas hallmark. Underneath the three drawers is an undulating “cenefa”/apron bordered with the guilloche pattern centered by an oval plaque with recessed square cutwork (reminiscent of the various plaques in the flanges and “cenefas”/aprons of the “Batangas Uno” mesa altar) flanked by engraved scrolls and stylized leaves. The sides of the casing are two horizontal solid pieces of “tindalo” and these are also supported by undulating “cenefas”/ aprons bordered with the guilloche pattern. The back of the casing are also two horizontal solid pieces of “tindalo.” Supporting the four sides of the casing are distinctive, turned baluster legs with extended feet. The bulbous turned legs are the most distinctive feature of this “Olympic” mesa altar. This altar table was surely produced by master craftsmen in Batangas during the middle of the nineteenth century. “Batangas Uno” for the rococo prototype, “Batangas Dos” for the transitional version from rococo to neoclassicism, and “Tuwid” for the neoclassical archetype were the terms coined by Filipiniana scholar/ jeweler/antique dealer Ramon Villegas and antique dealer/wood expert Osmundo Esguerra as they identified and described a series of remarkably crafted, Sinitic, Batangas “mesa altar” altar tables in the late 1970s. Of the three types, a genuine “Batangas Uno” rendered in reddish– brown “balayong” wood is the most coveted piece sought by serious Filipino collectors since the postwar years. Villegas and Esguerra theorized that there was a master cabinetmaker in what is now Taal town who produced the “Batangas Uno” prototypes from the mid–eighteenth century onwards (or even earlier). Through European trade with restrictive China, the rococo and chinoiserie fashions spread far and wide, reaching the shores of Las Islas Filipinas, to Batangas province. Rococo was a French royal style based on shells, rocks, waves, swirls, and confusion in general; Chinoiserie was an allied/complementary style: an entirely European fantasy about the mythical Cathay or China which made use of various materials (French silk, embroidery, black lacquer, red lacquer, ivory and ebony finishes, etc) and motifs (dragons, Foo dogs, Ho–Ho birds, phoenixes, cranes, etc) to make things look fashionably Oriental. The Filipino and Chinese master cabinetmakers were doubtless influenced by the novel artistic trends and incorporated these to the traditional Ming altar table and produced the legendary “Batangas Uno” mesa altar with its rococo flourishes. Later on in the eighteenth century, as a light neoclassicism became the fashion, the rococo exuberance was considerably toned down for the “Batangas Dos” mesa altar. The design was further pared down during the early nineteenth century when Napoleonic neoclassicism or the Empire style was the vogue and when the “Tuwid” mesa altar was produced. In any case, the said series of Batangas altar tables --- “Batangas Uno,” “Batangas Dos,” “Tuwid” --- have long been prestigious possessions by their own merits and will continue to be so in the years to come. The lure of antique Batangas furniture for serious collectors lies in their deliberate Oriental geometry of scale and proportion, fine mature hardwoods, precise Chinese–style construction with classical mortise–and–dowel techniques, and proven age–old durability. During the early 1980s, Filipiniana scholar/jeweler/antique dealer Ramon Villegas and antique dealer/wood expert Osmundo Esguerra engaged in serious research and revived interest in antique Batangas furniture --- with its timeless beauty and discreet refinement --- among top collectors and the fascination has not waned since then.