Copy of declaration of Philippines independence sold for P11.4 million

MANILA, Philippines — Amid an international slump, the appetite for Filipino art is as voracious as ever.

The Leon Gallery Magnificent September Auction last weekend broke several world records, contrary to the mood elsewhere, led by the highly coveted works of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo and a one-of-a-kind copy of the 1898 Philippine Declaration of Independence.

Amorsolo’s 1929 “Under the Mango Tree” bested the world record for the artist set by Leon Gallery itself by bringing in an eye-watering P58 million or just over $1 million. It had sat in the Edward J. Nell mansion in the billionaire enclave of Atherton, California for 95 years until the owners were ready to part with it. Nell was a Manila business titan, building his fortune on having brought air conditioning to the Philippines in the 1920s. The father of Jose Concepcion, aka JoeCon, in fact, was his chief accountant and his family today continues to control the Carrier brand.

A similarly themed work titled “Mango Gatherers” held the previous record at P47 million. It was owned by the fourth Count of Peracamps, Don Antonio Melian Zobel and was inherited by his son, the 5th Count, Don Leopoldo Melian, whose wife was Doña Natividad Ugarte Aboitiz, all Filipino aristocrats.

Leon founding director Jaime Ponce de Leon opined that the zest for a top-tier artwork is enduring. While the US elections and interest rates may have resulted in the recently reported 25 percent fall in American auction sales, he explained that “in the Philippines, when an important painting with impeccable provenance comes to market, collectors will always line up for that.”

History also made another world record with the highest price ever paid for a single document, with the only known copy of the “Acta de la Proclamacion de Independencia del Pueblo Filipino” (otherwise known as the Philippine Declaration of Independence) hitting P11.4 million. It was more than double the benchmark paid for the previous record holder, a letter of Andres Bonifacio to Emilio Jacinto which was written just days before the Katipunan Supremo’s trial and demise. That, too, was auctioned by Leon Gallery.

Juan Luna’s delightful depiction of the society princess Adele della Rocca, the winsome Italian niece of the King of Italy’s chief aide-de camp, also set a world record for Luna portraits at over P31 million. An Alfonso Ossorio from his brother’s personal collection and reminiscent of his best friend Jackson Pollock’s abstract expressionist style brought in P33.6 million.

“Leon Gallery may be smaller than the big American auction houses, but that works to our advantage, to stay nimble and to be able to read the pulse of the market,” Ponce de Leon noted.

Other art stars were an Amorsolo of “Ifugaos at Mines View Park,” from the age of the Benguet gold rush, which topped P18 million, and a Bencab titled “I No Longer Worry” at P15 million, the latter theme encapsulating the mood of the Filipino auction scene.