Provenance: Provenance: Workshop of IsabeloTampinco Heirs of Maximo Viola

ABOUT THE WORK

This armchair is part of a suite of furniture that Isabelo Tampinco made in 1909 for Maximo Viola, the man who lent Jose Rizal the money needed to publish his novel, Noli me Tangere. The chair stands on four feet carved in the shape of an inverted and truncated trunk of an areca or bonga palm emanating from a quadrant at each corner carved with a section of an anahaw leaf. The seat frame is edged with a cymatium molding and has an apron carved in front and at the sides with a serrated frieze of joined, upended triangles incised with diamond-shaped depressions that give an impression of stylized anahaw leaves. A boss is carved below the junction of each triangle, while three semicircular appendages equidistantly attached to the bottom of the front apron are carved with an anahaw leaf. The seat is caned in piece. Realistically carved bamboo arms resting on an arm support consisting of a short, truncated areca palm with a quadrant support on the inner angle carved with part of an anahaw leaf. The S-shaped arm, carved like a bamboo trunk, curves forward and tapers as it curves upwards to connect to the upright back stiles. The stiles, carved in the shape of an attenuated areca palm, has a crownshaft terminating in a stylized ionic capital consisting of a small anahaw leaf on a thorny stem at the center flanked by an ionic scroll. Between the back stiles is a solid narra plank flanked by stylized pilasters with molded vertical edges and a capital in the form of an inverted anahaw leaf. The back panel is carved with an inverted traveler’s palm with an anahaw leaf at the top. An entablature above the posts and backrest is carved with a small anahaw leaf with a thorny stalk on the block above the pilasters and a frieze of a coconut frond, a banana leaf and bamboo twigs tied at the center with a ribbon, both on an entirely stippled ground. The cymatium molding above the corona is topped with a beveled edge. This is surmounted by a wide crest consisting of a large spray of roses realistically carved in the round and topped by an acroterion superimposed with an anahaw leaf. Symmetrically arranged on either side are realistically carved jungle ferns, coconut fronds and banana leaves. -Martin I. Tinio, Jr