241. LA NAVAL PRINT

Few months back, I was in Cubao to check on some stuff my dealer supposedly found from an old house in Quiapo. Just as I was arriving at his place, he sped by in his car, the trunk loaded with house junk--just precisely the stuff my thrift shop dreams are made of! He said he had a couple of old prints, so he pulled out this frame, with glass intact.

I could barely see what was behind the glass; it was smeared with dirt and dust build-up! But I could faintly see the hazy shape of what appeared to be a print of the celebrated Virgen de la Naval. I paid for the frame--dust, grime and all--and headed for home.

I immediately pried open the back of the frame, and the backboard turned out to be a cardboard print of some Dutch landscape, complete with windmills and all. My hunch was correct, for upon carefully removing the fragile paper print that the backboard supported, I turned it over to see that it was indeed a nice print of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary--Virgen de la Naval!

The image of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is one of the most revered Marian image in the country. The ivory figure was carved by a Chinese artisan in 1593, who was converted into the faith while carving the image. It now reposes at the Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City where its annual feast day--La Naval Fiesta--is celebrated every October.

It was my first time to see this kind of print--I have one printed by the UST press that dates from the early 20th century. There were some pencil scribblings at the back of the paper print which puts the date of this making before the War.