Salcedo Auctions, one of the leading auction houses for fine art and collectibles in the Philippines, marks a new chapter in its history, as it holds the “Paradise Found” auction at its new headquarters at Nex Tower along Ayala Avenue in Makati.
“Paradise Found” plays on nostalgia and the desire to return to an idyllic past, taking its cue from objects of beauty that were once “lost” and have now returned to the spotlight.
Bringing this paradise to life are fine art, headlined by an extensive collection of contemporary Philippine art from an important Asian collection that includes Rodel Tapaya’s monumental canvas painting “Baston ni Kabunian, Bilang pero di Mabilang,” which won the Grand Prize at the 2011 APB Foundation Signature Art Prize held at the Singapore Art Museum. The collection also includes exemplary pieces by Jose John Santos III, Buen Calubayan, Jigger Cruz, Geraldine Javier, Leslie de Chavez, Alfredo Esquillo and Winner Jumalon.
Other major highlights of the sale include Félix Resurrección Hidalgo’s “Rooftop in Paris’ (undated ca. 1890s, oil on canvas),” Jorge Pineda’s depiction of a rice field before the harvest (1929, oil on canvas). Lao Lianben’s “Man of Few Words (2008, acrylic on canvas)” is a more meditative take on paradise executed in gold and silver. Also featured are Juvenal Sansó’s “Blooms in Poetry,” a rare acrylic with a solid yellow background, National Artist Vicente Manansala’s early watercolors from 1951 and 1953 and pieces by Fabian dela Rosa and Danilo Dalena, Solomon Saprid and National Artists Napoleon Abueva and Arturo Luz.
Rare antique furniture will also be part of the auction, including a 19th century, full-size, all-kamagong wardrobe closet. It is widely believed that only a handful of them exist today, mostly in museums or in private collections. Except for the shelves, drawers and backing, which are customarily made of narra, this aparador is made entirely of tiger kamagong.
There is also an escritorio with a chest of drawers, made of highly prized dark kamagong wood and narra wood, as well as with lanite and carabao bone inlays, and brass mounts. The large dummy drawer conceals a fall-front writing desk equipped with ample compartments for paper, documents and other supplies. Its design elements are of the 19th century Europe neoclassical style, and eventually reached the Philippines towards the middle of the century.
Other exquisite works that are included in the auction are pieces formerly from the renowned collection of Romy and Nini Jorge, including a 19th century Hepplewhite-style Baliuag altar table in kamagong with narra and lanite inlays, and silver mounts, a solid ivory “Mother and Child” and a pair of magnificent late-18th century molave altar pillars from Bohol.
Rounding out the sale are precious heirloom diamond jewelry and collectible timepieces by Patek Philippe, Breguet, IWC and Jaeger-Lecoultre.
As the inaugural exhibit in its new address, “Paradise Found” is said to be, in many ways, a metaphor for coming home, as Salcedo Auctions opens its 500-sq.m. gallery at the Nex Tower, which is a modern landmark in itself with its crystalline structure encasing the country’s largest indoor vertical garden. Its new address provides art collectors and connoisseurs with an even better art auction experience.
Salcedo Auctions will be holding the Paradise Found Auction event, today, June 1, 2 p.m., at the new Salcedo Auctions Showroom Ground and Podium Levels at NEX Tower on Ayala Avenue, Makati City. The online catalogue is available at www.salcedoauctions.com,
