Philippine Gold: Southeast Asian Trade and Transmission

The Wenxian tongkao (Comprehensive Examination of Literature by Ma Duanlin [1245–1322]) mentions a Philippine ship arriving in China in 982 and subsequent dynastic records list gold as an item of exchange. But the Chinese records contain no details about the nature of the gold that was traded, and it is not until the 16th century arrival of the Spanish that we are provided with a wealth of information about gold working and the ornaments themselves. Jesuit priest Diego de Bobadilla wrote in 1640:

Their whole adornment consists in having very rich and beautiful necklaces, earrings and gold rings or bracelets. They wear those bracelets above the ankle; some wear these of ivory, and others of brass. They also have little round plates three fingers in diameter, which they pass through a hole that they make in the ear.
(Blair and Robertson, p. 286)

Today the gold objects discovered in the Philippines are among the few reminders of a people and culture about which we know little. Situated at the farthest reaches of Southeast Asia, the role of the Philippines in early international trade has been elucidated primarily through ceramic finds. However, recent excavations and study of the port City of Butuan in northeast Mindanao, a settlement known to have sent tribute to China as early as 1003, reveals the hitherto unrealized extent of this entrepot. The large quantities of goldwork found locally suggest a wealthy, thriving centre.

The exhibition ‘Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms’ draws attention to the growing body of material attesting the extent of trade among China, Butuan, and the countries of Southeast Asia during the 10th–13th century. Gold’s value, and the fact that it is often worked into small, portable items, lends itself to exchange, so it shouldn’t surprise us that objects were traded throughout the Southeast Asian arena.

Fig. 1 *Kamagi*
Surigao Treasure, Surigao del Sur province
Gold, length 453 cm
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (G2P-1981-0023)
(Image courtesy of the lender; photograph: Wig Tysmans)

This article focuses on the rare finds that illuminate these connections, yet we should not lose sight of the singular nature of ancient gold jewellery production in the Philippines, which is demonstrated through these comparisons. Beginning in about the 6th century, regional styles developed throughout Southeast Asia and were sustained until European and Islamic fashions made an impact. Though Philippine goldsmiths were aware of objects and jewellery from the countries along the trade routes, they chose to produce works in their own stylistic vernacular, works that undoubtedly functioned in the context of local custom, taste, and ritual. Their gold belts, an abundance of gold beads (Fig. 1), and elaborate loop-in-loop gold chains are all unique to the region (see Florina H. Capistrano-Baker’s article, in this issue, figs 1, 2 and 3).

Our knowledge and interpretation of ancient Philippine gold is gained from stray finds, comparison with gold jewellery and imagery elsewhere, early Spanish accounts including the late 16th century illustrated Boxer Codex, and archaeological excavations conducted in the Philippines, as well as on shipwrecks throughout Southeast Asia.

Burial gold eye and mouth covers excavated from Balinese graves dating to 100 BCE–100 CE are among the earliest gold found in Southeast Asia (Miksic, 2001, p. 41). The use of gold masks and covers in burials was widespread throughout insular Southeast Asia and demonstrates the common ancestry of the Austronesian language-speaking region, as well as indicating the high esteem in which gold was held from an early period.

Fig. 2 Funerary mask
Butuan, Agusan del Norte province, c. 10th–13th century
Gold, 21.5 x 16 cm
Ayala Museum (76.4795)

The Philippines participated in this tradition, continuing the practice into the 17th century, which makes dating of the mask illustrated in Figure 2, with its pierced eyes and mouth and palmette diadem, difficult. No systematic study of the stylistic development of these burial masks has been completed. In general, the dating of Philippine gold objects is challenging, as few pieces have been found in scientifically excavated archaeological contexts in association with organic material or ceramics that would confirm dating. Many of the objects in this exhibition from northeast Mindanao are dated according to find spot, as the port of Butuan thrived between the 10th and the 13th century.

The mask in Figure 2 illustrates a usage based on a common heritage, while other objects point to the importation of commodities from outside the Philippines. The Surigao Treasure, found in 1981 in San Miguel town, Surigao by a bulldozer operator, included an extensive cache of typically Pilipino produced belts (see Florina H. Capistrano-Baker’s article, in this issue, fig. 3), bracelets, weapons, earrings, necklaces, beads—such as the kamagi in Figure 1—and other gold objects. The find illustrates the primary difficulty in any discussion of Philippine gold artefacts, with the frequent lack of datable associated objects. In particular, the gold kinnari (Fig. 3) from the Surigao Treasure is worth looking at closely, as it presents problems in dating and provenance.

The kinnari, the bird-woman of Indian myth is a well-known figure in India and Southeast Asia, depicted on the Hindu–Buddhist monuments of Vietnam and Central Java and incorporated into the folklore of Thailand in the favourite story of Princess Manohara. Since this gold image does not relate stylistically to any known pre-Hispanic anthropomorphic figure in the Philippines, nor do we have any figures of the same iconography from this period or later, it is most likely an import, though where and when it was made is difficult to determine.

Fig. 3 *Kinnari*
Surigao Treasure, Surigao del Sur province, c. 10th–13th century
Gold, 12.3 x 7.3 cm
Ayala Museum (81.5189)

It has been suggested that this gold kinnari was a hanging oil lamp, like the bronze Central Javanese kinnari lamps in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and the Rijksmusuem, Amsterdam (and elsewhere). In both of those examples, the back (top) of the body of the bird-woman was worked into a receptacle for the oil, while the chain from which the lamp hung extended from the back of her neck. This example, though crushed, clearly had neither an indentation for a bowl in its back nor a chain attached from its neck, head or back, but instead the figure had two legs, both now broken.

Certainly the iconography relates to the Javanese kinnari lamps, which date as early as the 10th century. Stylistically the details differ, in the longer proportion of the face and head of the gold kinnari to that of the more rounded or squared head of Javanese sculptures of the period, and in details of the body, such as incised feathers, often not depicted on the Javanese kinnari lamps. The eyes, with their double lid, relate to the unusual 9th–10th century Shiva and Parvati image from Mt Seplawan, Java (Indonesian Gold, 1999, cover image). The kinnari, like many Central Javanese images of the period, wears a headdress with three trefoil motifs.

Comparisons can be drawn with works elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The modelling and proportions of the head and face would be unusual for an Indonesian sculpture and relate to Thai images of circa 1400, while the hairstyle shares similarities with that of Khmer sculpture of the 10th–13th century, though neither of these comparisons is satisfactory in resolving where the kinnari originated. Until comparable works are discovered, the date and provenance of the kinnari will remain a mystery.

These stylistic comparisons are a reminder that the ships that plied these waters travelled great distances, transporting many types of objects. The Intan shipwreck, sunk off the coast of West Java in the early 10th century and scientifically excavated in 1997, is instructive. One of the most eclectic cargoes discovered to date, in addition to the ceramics (mostly Chinese), tin ingots and other metals that made up the bulk of its cargo, bronze Buddhist figures and religious paraphernalia, gold objects, and Middle Eastern glass were also on board. Because of its location and cargo, it is assumed the ship was sailing from Srivijaya and the island of Sumatra, headed east along the Java coast. Might it have been headed to the Philippines? We may never know, but the Intan does provide us with one of the few instances of comparative material that allows us to date specific Philippine gold objects.

Four plaques in the Ayala collection (two of which are shown in Figures 4 and 5) closely relate to a 10th century plaque (Fig. 6), one of 63 gold artefacts in the diverse cargo of the Intan (Flecker, 2002, p. 74). The inclusion of the pubic plaque in its cargo not only provides us with a firm 10th century date for the examples found in the Philippines, but it is also proof that items of this type were traded and, as comparison illustrates, made their way to Mindanao. The Intan plaque is approximately the same size as the smallest plaque in this exhibition (see Fig. 4), and like the plaques found in the Philippines, the Intan example, worked in the typical curved-triangular shape, has a tube running along the top to insert a cord or chain that would be tied around the waist. The later well-known 13th–14th century Javanese pubic plaques differ from these early examples as they are hung by small loops at the two upper corners of the triangular form.

The decor of the 10th century and the 13th–14th century pieces also differs. While all are worked in repoussé, the designs on the later plaques include narrative scenes of tales extolling the virtues of women. The motifs of the Intan and Ayala plaques bear no narrative, but do have similar details—stippling, beaded border, overall organization of motifs. In fact, the conch plaque (see Fig. 5) is close enough to the Intan example to raise the question of whether it might be an import. The conch is an auspicious symbol in both Hinduism and Buddhism and it has been suggested that the conch on this plaque might reference Hinduism—if an import, this would certainly be possible. If not, one might surmise that in a maritime community the conch might well have an auspicious significance suitable for an amulet. Floriate details on the other Philippine plaque (see Fig. 4) are also quite close to the Intan example, while the less skilfully drawn motifs of the two other plaques suggests a local goldsmith was copying another work.

Though pubic plaques are generally referred to as chastity plaques, a recent article suggests they functioned as auspicious amulets (Lunsingh-Scheurleer, 2015), an interpretation in line with the amulets small children throughout Southeast Asia wear about their waists. Whether they are chastity plaques or amulets, imported or locally made, comparison with the Intan plaque gives us one of the few definite dates for a Philippine gold object and places the Philippines firmly within international trade in the first half of the 10th century.

Another shipwreck, the late 10th century Nanhan-Cirebon wreck, excavated in the Java Sea in 2004, provides further evidence of the movement of objects related to Philippine gold through the shipping lanes of Southeast Asia. The Philippine object discussed here is the gold figure from Agusan. The Agusan figure relates stylistically to late 10th century Javanese bronze sculpture and, more specifically, to the East Javanese Nganjuk group—with their spikey tall headdresses and elaborate jewellery—that would originally have been arranged as a mandala. She has recently been identified as Vajralasya, a minor offering goddess in the Vajradhatu mandala, who places her hands on her hips (Fig. 7). The rough, rather provincial aspect of the Philippine Agusan figure suggests it is probably a copy of a Javanese Nganjuk-style Vajralasya, but whether it was made for Buddhist worship (intended as a part of a mandala) or represented a local goddess, cannot be known.

An iconographically and stylistically related bronze female figure of Vajraraga (Fig. 8) was excavated from the Nanhan-Cirebon ship, probably the property of a Buddhist practitioner, based on its find spot in the wreckage (Horst Liebner, p. 192). In the same style as the Nganjuk sculptures and the Agusan figure, this Vajraraga may well have been placed in an all-female variant of the Vajradhatu mandala, the Vajraguhya mandala (Rob Linrothe, personal communication, June 2015), where a Vajralasya would also have found a place. Thus we have two esoteric Buddhist female figures—one on board a ship bound to an unknown destination in the Java Sea, the other a copy of a piece transported a long distance that was deemed valuable enough to copy in gold. Both works speak of trade and the distances travelled by practitioners of esoteric forms of Buddhism.

Looking to the sea and the trade that enlivened and engaged the peoples of the Philippines allows us to see them connected to a wider world; now we need to look more closely at the choices they made as they acquired new goods. The uniqueness of Philippine gold jewellery and objects speaks as much, if not more, of their resourcefulness and ingenuity, their ability to adapt and transform the new to fit their own tastes, cultures and traditions.

Fig. 8 Vajraraga
Excavated from the Nanhan-Cirebon shipwreck, Java Sea in 2004
Late 10th century
Gold
(Image: Cosmix Underwater Research and Recovery Ltd by Luc Heymans)

Nancy Tingley is an independent scholar and curator specializing in Southeast Asian art.

Unless otherwise stated, images are courtesy of Ayala Museum and photography is by Neal Oshima.

Selected bibliography

A. J. Bernet Kempers, Ancient Indonesian Art, Cambridge, MA, 1959.

Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, The Philippine Islands 1493–1898, vol. 29, ‘Relation of the Filipinas Islands’ [Diego de Bobadilla, S.J.; 1640], p. 286.

C. R. Boxer, ‘A Late Sixteenth Century Manila MS.’, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, April 1950.

F. Capistrano-Baker, ed., Philippine Ancestral Gold, Makati City and Singapore, 2011.

Michael Flecker, The Archaeological Excavation of the 10th century Intan Shipwreck, BAR International Series 1047, 2002.

Jan Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia, Washington, DC and New York, 1990.

Indonesian Gold: Treasures from the National Museum, Jakarta, Queensland Art Gallery exh. cat., 1999.

Marijke J. Klokke and Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer, Divine Bronzes: Ancient Indonesian Bronzes from AD 600–1600, Leiden, 1988.

Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer, ‘Ornaments with Meaningful Motifs: The Necessity of Genital Protection’, in Ruth Barnes et al., eds, Gold in Early Southeast Asia: Selected Papers from the Symposium Gold in Southeast Asia Yale University Art Gallery 13–14 May 2011, pp. 89–123, 2015.

Horst H. Liebner, ‘The Siren of Cirebon: A Tenth-Century Trading Vessel Lost in the Java Sea’, PhD dissertation, The University of Leeds, 2014 (online at academia.edu).

John Miksic, Old Javanese Gold, West Haven, CN, 2001.

Nancy Tingley, ‘The Boxer Codex: Sixteenth century Philippine chic’, in Wilhelmina H. Kal, ed., Precious Metals in early South East Asia: Proceedings of the second Seminar on Gold Studies, Amsterdam, Royal Tropical Institute, Tropenmuseum, 1999, pp. 51–64.

Ramon Villegas, Kayamanan: The Philippine Jewelry Tradition, Manila, 1983.

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Philippine Gold: Southeast Asian Trade and Transmission

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