249. Filipiniana Tole Art: A WEDDING IN 3-D

 One of the more unusual framed photos I have seen is this three-dimensional photo cut-out of a wedding couple, assembled between glass, found in an Apalit warehouse. The pictures appear in layers, with each picture element--the bouquet, the bride and the groom--cut out and glued on wood; which means that several sets of the same wedding photo were used to make this tole art piece.

 The whole ensemble was then mounted on the base of a frame, then sandwiched between glass, and the result is rather a unique and striking presentation of the busts of a wedding couple at a very special moment of their lives.

 I have seen only 2 similar pieces in my collecting lifetime--one, a solo figure of a woman in butterfly sleeves, and the other, also a 1930s wedding anniversary picture of a prominent couple in my town:

I may never know the identities of the bride and the groom, but what I do know is that their lifelike good looks are forever preserved in this rare, tole art piece that is a testament to the imaginative creativity of a Pinoy artist-photographer!

248. LITTLE LORD FAUNTLEROY

Now, here's a 109 year old photo of a snazzy-looking Filipino boy, another nice find from my usual Cubao junkshop. I thought I had found the Pinoy version of  Little Lord Fauntleroy, the character made famous by novelist Francis Hobson Bennett. The novelist introduced us to a style of dress that is at once a page boy costume and a boy-man suit---worn with a lacy collar,  knee pants and black stockings. I was told by the dealer that this photo came from the house of the Paternos in Quiapo, which counts Malolos Congress head, Pedro Paterno as member--but of course, you just have to take claims like this with a grain of salt. Complete with a straw boat hat on his tousled mop of hair and a dandy stick, our Pinoy kid cuts a smart, princely figure indeed, one who could very well win a Fauntleroy Lookalike Contest!

247. I GAT RIZAL'S BUST!

Now here's a nicely-put together cast metal bust of our national hero which I found in a used furniture shop in Apalit. And unlike plaster statues of Jose Rizal, this one is made of heavy polished brass. The base, I suspect, is a later addition, made of wood, aluminum and accentuated with a metal crest.  Maybe this once rested on somebody's desk, or in some school principal's or politico's office. But for now, I am happy to house Gat Jose in my library, happy to have a hero watch over me.

246. Boxed: WALT DISNEY'S PETER PAN

A 1969 Walt Disney tin lunchbox of Peter Pan manufactured by Aladdin Industries--found at the famous Grand Thrift Shop at Cubao Expo. A pity the thermo is missing! But this lunch box is in exquisite condition, almost unused! This side shows Peter Pan in a duel with Captain Hook...

The other side shows the Darling children flying with Peter Pan. The side panels feature other characters from the popular animated film. Great coloring on this box! I coveted this lunchbox when I was a kid..but unlike Peter Pan, I grew up and sort of outgrew my interest in such kidstuff. Until my second childhood stage kicked in....

245. Feeding the Kitty : CLAY CAT COIN BANK

Saw this very folksy clay cat perched on a shelf at the famed Grand Thrift Shop in Cubao, and I just couldn't resist it! It reminded me of those cheap Staffordshire cat figurines from the U.K.--but this local version packs a lot more charm with its expression and color! It is actually a clay bank, made in some local kiln, peddled and sold in the 50s or even 60s. Clay figurines such as these where very popular cheap gifts, and were available at any local market. A lot were also sold by ambulant cattle-riding vendors. There were clay pigs, clay fruits, clay vases, clay ovens, clay everything! -- all hand-painted with hardware paint.

This pussy cat with a sour grin looks like an ordinary, tail-less alley cat, speckled with yellow and black paint to simulate a kitty's tortoiseshell coloring. It stands rigidly on its base, ready to receive coins from a school kid (there's a coin slot on his back), but is unused, hence it's very good, almost purr-fect condition! It's getting harder to find these folk art clay figurines--too laborious to make perhaps, in this age of resin and plastic. Thanks for the meow-mories!

244. SANICULAS COOKIE MOLDS

The celebrated miraculous bread, known as “panecillos de San Nicolas”, is known simply in Pampanga as “saniculas’. There used to be a ritual blessing of the cookies before they are distributed, although this tradition is now rarely practiced, saved for some Recollect parishes like San Sebastian where saniculas are still blessed during Masses.The cookie itself is made using age-old techniques and ingredients like arrowroot flour (uraro), eggs, lard, dalayap (lemon rind) and coconut milk.

The “saniculas” wooden moulds which are used to impress the dough with the distinctive imprint are interesting kitchen artifacts themselves. They are often commissioned from Betis and Bacolor carvers, and although the designs vary, the moulds always have the abstracted figure of the saint in the center, surrounded by floral, vegetal and curlicue patterns.

Kapampangan cooks treasure these uniquely-designed wooden molds, which commonly came as single blocks. Some have back-to-back designs, but most are often carved with the owner’s initials. As fine examples of folk art, “saniculas” moulds have also found their way in antique shops.

243. VINTAGE 3-D FOLK ART PAINTING

Time was when every 50s and 60s home had "works of art" such as this--a 3-D painting of some generic rural scene, often bought at furniture shops and downtown bazaars. Cheaply produced, the paintings featured subjects such as nipa huts that were cleverly raised in relief from the canvass using sticks, paper mache and cardboards. Elements such as the roof, the walls and the fences were then gesso'ed and painted, in the hope of achieving a more realistic, three-dimensional look. Think of it as "extreme impasto".

Nevertheless, despite this technique, paintings still looked kitschy and naive. But nowadays, period kitsch have been elevated to the status of folk art, Filipiniana style, and this example--sold at a swap shop--carried quite a price tag, many time its original price.Not even the fancy frame can hide the hideous execution of its theme--from the waterfall that cascades down to become a multi-tiered stream, the cockroach-looking carabao and the bahay kubo that looks like a cross between a log cabin and an Ifugao ulog hut. But as they say, one man's awful painting is another man's precious "outsider art".