Salcedo Auctions vice chair and chief financial officer Karen Lerma, National Museum Board of Trustees chairman Andoni Aboitiz, Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist Richie Lerma, and National Museum director Jeremy Barns with the bronze bust of Juan Luna y Novicio by Spanish sculptor Mariano Benlliure
National Museum director-general Jeremy Barns, National Museum chairman of the board Andoni M. Aboitiz, First Lady Liza Marcos, MIB Capital Corporation chairperson Malou Cristobal, MIB Capital Corporation president Dindo Caguiat, and Salcedo Auctions chairman and chief specialist Richie Lerma. (Photo courtesy of Salcedo Auctions)
Multinational Investment Bancorporation (MIB), now known as MIB Capital Corporation, brought one of its most prized possessions, the bust of Juan Luna y Novicio by the Spanish sculptor Mariano Benlliure, to its permanent home at the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP). It will be exhibited permanently at the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum.
This historical artwork, believed to have been lost in 1945 in the Battle of Manila, is being offered as a gift to the Philippines, a gesture of civic responsibility and goodwill. The turnover ceremony and formal signing of the turnover agreement was held at the National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA) in Manila, witnessed by officials of MIB, the NMP’s Board of Trustees, other government officials, and the principals of Salcedo Auctions who provided the critical scholastic research on the art piece.
The likeness of the master overlooks his masterpiece. The bust of Juan Luna y Novicio is installed in the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum of the Philippines, where the artist-hero’s magnum opus is displayed (Photo courtesy of Dom Galeon)
The memorial plaque. The bust will be displayed in perpetuity in the Spoliarium Hall at National Museum. (Photo courtesy of Salcedo Auctions)
The turnover ceremony was held October 10, a highly auspicious date, since October marks the 101st anniversary of the original donation of the bust of Luna as a gift to the Philippines from Spanish donors, made on Oct. 12, 1922. Oct. 25, 2023 is the 166th birth anniversary of Luna. October is the NMP’s Museums and Galleries Month.
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- The bust of Juan Luna y Novicio by Mariano Benlliure, molded in Rome, 1884, cast in Madrid, ca. 1920, bronze, 41 x 16.5 x 25 cm (16 x 6 1/2 x 10 in)
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- Back view of the bust of Juan Luna y Novicio showing the artist’s signature, and the place and date when the original mold was created, “Roma/1884,” engraved at the nape
Side view of the bust of Juan Luna y Novicio
Since its acquisition in 1979, the bust has been kept in MIB’s vault to preserve the integrity of such an important piece. Apart from being an exemplary work by the Spanish sculptor, the bust is symbolic of a turning point in our nation’s journey toward independence. Benlliure created the bust’s plaster original in 1884, the same year that Juan Luna, his good friend, won the First Class Medal at Madrid’s Exposición Nacional de Bellas Artes for Spoliarium, Luna’s magnum opus that helped germinate nationalism in the people and would later culminate in the revolution against Spain.
MIB’s efforts in recovering and caring for this priceless artwork will be recognized, along with Salcedo Auctions’ rigorous efforts to authenticate the piece. The inscription on the bust reads:
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES, WITH DEEP GRATITUDE, ACKNOWLEDGES MULTINATIONAL INVESTMENT BANCORPORATION FOR THE RECOVERY, STEWARDSHIP, AND CARE OF THIS IMPORTANT WORK OF ART, THE BUST OF JUAN LUNA Y NOVICIO BY MARIANO BENLLIURE, WHICH WAS LOST TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE FOR SEVENTY-EIGHT YEARS, AND SALCEDO AUCTIONS FOR THE INVALUABLE WORK IN BRINGING IT ANEW TO THE ATTENTION AND APPRECIATION OF THE PUBLIC.
THE SURVIVAL OF THIS SCULPTURE IN THE DESTRUCTION OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, ITS JOURNEY THROUGH THE DECADES SINCE, AND ITS RETURN TO THE NATION MADE POSSIBLE BY SINCERE CIVIC-MINDEDNESS AND LOVE OF COUNTRY, IS A REMARKABLE STORY FROM WHICH ALL FILIPINOS CAN TAKE INSPIRATION.
The public will be able to view it at the Spoliarium Hall starting Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023.
First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, National Museum Chairman of the Board Andoni M. Aboitiz, and Salcedo Auctions Chairman & Chief Specialist Richie Lerma. (Photo courtesy of Salcedo Auctions)
