León Gallery will hold its sixth online auction on Jan. 20 beginning at 11 a.m. Bidding will be at León Gallery’s online platform leonexchange.com.
León owner Jaime Ponce de León said the auction would give “excellent opportunity for new art collectors to acquire works of great quality at affordable prices.”
Ponce de León added: “Highlights of the sale include pieces from the collection of the late antiques expert and connoisseur Ramon Villegas.”
Villegas, whose untimely passing in August last year was mourned by the art and heritage scene, was a León consultant who enjoyed widespread recognition as an authority on Philippine colonial art, modern and contemporary visual arts, ecclesiastical antiquity and ivory, Muslim craft and jewelry.
Other highlights are “the Isauro Gabaldon Collection of furniture, and the contents of an important home in Makati.”
Gabaldon was the Philippine resident commissioner in Washington from 1920 until 1928.
It is after Gabaldon that American-era public elementary schools are now named, since they were built through the bills he sponsored when he was a lawmaker.
“There are some excellent furniture in the sale such as the three Baliuag chest of drawers, Bohol furniture, as well as pieces made by the antique dealer and furniture maker Osmundo Esguerra,” said Ponce de León.
Of special interest to heritage furniture collectors would be the Chinese Qing dynasty set.
Also to be auctioned: the Botanical Album of Fr. Manuel Blanco, the Augustinian botanist who made the scientific and typographical masterpiece, “Flora de Manila.”
Among the art pieces are works by Mauro Malang Santos, José Joya, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Cesar Buenaventura, works from the Amorsolo School and many more.
Among the objets d’art are pieces from Lalique, Baccarat, Lladro amd Murano, said Ponce de León. —CONTRIBUTED
Preview will start on Jan. 18, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., at Leon Gallery, Eurovilla 1, Rufino and Legazpi Sts., Legazpi Village, Makati City. Visit leonexchange.com.
