Precolonial artifacts play a significant part in making sense of the past and connecting it with the present. However, such relics often face the unfortunate outcome of being lost in time, which makes the uncovering and preserving of these treasured pieces an important act to behold.
Aiming to shed light on a part of history that has long been forgotten, the Ayala Museum and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) have banded together for an exhibition that reunites the golden pieces of the Surigao Treasure that have long been scattered following its discovery decades ago.
The Surigao Treasure is a collection of gold objects ranging from bowls to accessories from the ancient polity of Butuan in Northeastern Mindanao, which was accidentally found by heavy machinery operator Edilberto Morales on April 27, 1981 while working on an irrigation project in Surigao del Sur. As it had led to treasure hunters, dealers, and collectors to search for more gold in the area, it had inadvertently caused many pieces to be lost.
Throughout the years, the Ayala Museum and the BSP as well as collectors like National Artist for Architecture Leandro Locsin and his wife Cecilia, have been collecting and preserving these precious objects.
Curated by Dr. Florina Capistrano-Baker, a former director of the Ayala Museum, the Reuniting the Surigao Treasure exhibition will bring the one thousand gold items from the Surigao Treasure that the Ayala Museum has on display together with the 38 gold objects loaned from the BSP’s collection.
“When we opened Ayala’s permanent exhibition entitled Gold of Ancestors: Precolonial Treasures in the Philippines in 2008, little did we know or even dream that Ayala’s gold collection would one day be reunited with the… other gold finds,” said Capistrano-Baker.
She further said that the reunited pieces in the exhibition were recovered from a single culture area that was associated with the ancient kingdom of Butuan. The collaboration between the Ayala Museum and the BSP allows for the research of archaeologists, metallurgists, and art historians when it comes to the kingdom from precolonial times to move forward.
“We thank and applaud the leadership of Ayala Foundation and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for their vision and their trust and for making this extraordinary exhibition possible,” said Capistrano-Baker.
The Reuniting the Surigao Treasure is on view at the Ayala Museum until 2027.
