Memories are made of these
Antique collector Maribelle Legaspi looks at the pieces inside her newly opened shop at LRI Design Plaza and says, “You know what, collecting antiques is not just about the objects (per se), it’s about the memories (associated with them).”
Maribelle has been an antique collector for 30 years already, focusing on prized decor from China, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Vietnam, Korea and other Asian countries. She remembers her first acquisition just after she got married: a celadon bowl. It cost around P400 at that time. Then she started buying antique jars with her extra money. The collection grew. And grew. And grew.
She set up The Legaspi Collection, which has two branches in San Juan and Mandaluyong that specialize in Asian furniture and design. The goal of her shop is to “bring Asian culture to everyone’s homes.” But the latest Legaspi Collection branch is what Maribelle considers her “baby.”
She says, “I call it my Golden Triangle collection. I’ve been acquiring these pieces in Myanmar for the last seven years.”
Maribelle fell in love with lacquerware made by Burmese craftsmen. She started buying those delicately crafted pieces in 2000 during her frequent trips with her husband (telecom man Toto Legaspi, who passed away more than a year ago), and she ended up with a thousand of them. When she visited Bagan, the center of the lacquerware trade in Myanmar, she was awestruck by the temples, shrines and pagodas, ordination halls and monuments. Going around Bagan in an old rickety Toyota that created a hell of a racket, the woman saw the splendor of the place. From there, their group proceeded to Mandalay for more purchases of mementos and an accumulation of memories.
She points out the patience and expertise that go into each piece. The lacquer used by Burmese artists is not the kind that you can buy off a hardware counter; rather the sap is taken from rubber trees. Once the base object has been chosen (wood, bamboo or metal), a layer of lacquer paste mixed with finely sifted ground clay is applied. It is left to dry for 10 days and polished with a wet pumice stone; afterwards a smooth coating of finer material (htaung-thayo) is applied. What follows is a series of time-consuming and meticulously executed procedures (which involves the whole village). The entire production, including drying periods, takes a whopping six months. The fruits of all those labors with lacquer are betel boxes, snack and cheroot boxes, bottles, bowls, storage boxes, weaving implements and even musical instruments. There are also lacquer alms bowls, royal accoutrements, votive vases, preaching chairs and palanquins used in religious ceremonies.
“Each piece is so difficult to do. It makes you wonder how the craftsmen manage to do it at all. Everything is done so naturally. It is such a pity that it is becoming a lost art.”
Mulling over the thousand pieces of Asian art in her home, Maribelle thought of the most logical thing to do: open an antique store devoted solely to the Golden Triangle countries (Burma, Thailand and Laos) and share it with like-minded individuals. Her goal was to reach out to “whoever would fall in love with them.”
She chose the best pieces to put in The Legaspi Collection store in LRI. Some of Maribelle’s favorites include marionettes and puppets — oriental Pinocchios that serve a higher purpose than keeping Geppetto amused.
“Did you know that they were used by the people in Myanmar to communicate their problems to the king? Here in our country we convey our concerns through our dula. If it were up to me, I’d keep all the marionettes and puppets for myself (laughs).”
Maribelle points to lacquer betel boxes filled with intricate drawings, mainly about the 500 lives of Buddha. They tell a story, each one of them. And she has a whole floor of them.
There are also kalagas or embroidered Burmese tapestries, created using a variety of beads, sequins, silk and hand-stitched details on cotton background. “Like the betel boxes, each one tells a story also. You could practically create a coffee-table book with those illustrations.”
She could go on and on and on. What makes the items in The Legaspi Collection so compelling is that, according to interior designer Pia Sta. Romana, “the story behind each piece is very interesting.” (Pia, who graduated from the Philippine Shool of Interior Design and the College of Saint Benilde, has closely worked with Maribelle on other Legaspi Collection stores. Maribelle says, “Pia has a knack for creating spaces for gracious living and does a lot of freelance interior consultancy to date.”)
Maribelle says the LRI store is a tribute to her husband, Toto. They traveled to Burma together, bought antiques together, and enjoyed going to the temples, stupas and lacquer workshops together. Although Maribelle and Toto may not be together anymore, each item at The Legaspi Collection has become a reminder of their days on those thunderous roads in Myanmar dotted with rubber trees, riding the rickety car in search of that elusive betel box or marionette in lacquer. The shop has become a repository of memories.
Maribelle concludes, “And every piece tells a story.”
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The Legaspi Collection is at Suite 213, LRI Design Plaza, 210 Nicanor Garcia St., Makati City. For information, call 724-3477, 717-0900, telefax 725-3066, or e-mail legaspi_collection@yahoo.com.ph or legaspicollection@gmail.com.
