Accompanied by a certificate issued by heirs of the artist
confirming the authenticity of this lot

ABOUT THE WORK

Our diversity as a nation is perhaps most evident in our vast array of folklore. However, due to rapid modernization and westernization, our native myths and legends have been gradually falling into obscurity, especially in the collective psyche of the current generation. Given this cultural setback, Solomon Saprid uses his works to reintroduce our myriad of pre-colonial folk beliefs that are marks of our identity as a people. One particular creature of Philippine folklore that dominates the oeuvre of Saprid is the tikbalang. Saprid began his now-iconic Tikbalang series in 1971. By welding metal scraps into a raw, Brutalist style, which reached its peak in the 1970s, Saprid generated a jagged characteristic to the form of the mythical beast. In the native context, whoever can successfully subdue the tikbalang and pluck its golden hair from its nape can tame it. The beast then willfully transforms into a servant until the death of its master. The hair strand can also be used as an anting-anting. In work at hand, Saprid creatively redefines the myth of the tikbalang, blending native and Chinese elements and transforming the tikbalang into an icon of prosperity akin to the Oriental "laughing buddha." The creature carries a vessel filled with coins reminiscent of the wealth basket in Chinese feng shui. Saprid depicts the tikbalang as if in the act of offering good fortune and abundance to whoever takes possession of it. A sense of movement and gesture is also apparent in this piece. Saprid's depiction of "frozen motion," where the viewer perceives movement in a static object, is manifested in the tikbalang's gesture of subservience and service. Alfredo Roces wrote: "A Saprid sculpture has a kinetic quality to it…a sense of arrested action. The effect is one towards which the artist strives." (A.M.)