Isabelo Tampinco… “Triune God”

Isabelo Tampinco. [ 1850 – 1933]

Title. “ Triune God ” …. original title unknown.

Sculpted and painted wood and ivory.

50cm high x 36cm wide x 20cm deep.

Circa 1870's

Signed center lower back “ ILT”.

Description.

This is a very early Tampinco sculpture in wood and painted, also the hands, face and feet are ivory.

The sculpture shows God the Father seated with Jesus sitting on His right, the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove can be seen on the center of the back board.

The sculpture is carved from one piece of wood.

God the Father is seated and dressed in a white round necked tunic with a blue robe covering his left shoulder.

He is holding a globe in His left hand and His right hand is held up palm forward.

Jesus is also seated but does not have a tunic on and His robe is brown and over His right shoulder. His right hand is held up but palm faces inward.

Both characters have beards and long hair.

 The faces, the hands and the feet are in ivory and quite detailed.

Both characters are seated on what seems to be a cloud resting on a detailed base.

The backboard showing the Holy Spirit is relief carved and quite ornate and painted gold on a blue/green background.

Signature.

The initials “ILT” can be seen on the center lower back of the sculpture.

 Comments.

This sculpture is thought to be a quite early Tampinco piece, maybe from his apprenticeship years, 1870 to 1880, because of the use of the ivory which was slowly fading out near the end of the 19^th century. Also the anatomy is not quite up to the standard of his later sculptures.

This is a very important work by Tampinco for exactly the reasons I gave above, the ivory and the early creation of this piece and the subject matter. He was to repeat this theme often but the important thing about this piece is Christ is sitting beside God the Father, whereas in most other renditions of this theme the Christ is portrayed crucified.

This an import part of Philippine Art History and needs to be preserved for future generations to behold.

Written by:-

Mark Shellshear.

Art consultant.

markshellshear@gmail.com

Isabelo Tampinco…. “ Flight to Egypt.”

“Flight to Egypt”

Isabelo Tampinco [1850 – 1933]

Two carved figures in wood and painted on a single wooden base.

Mary, Jesus and donkey:- 43cm high x 38cm wide x 15cm deep.

Joseph:- 50cm high x 19cm wide x 23cm deep.

Base:- 45cm wide x 31cm deep x 3cm high.

Signature:-

The sculptures are signed on the base “ILT” on the back left side.

Matthew 2:13. Now when they had gone, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “ Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

:14. So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night and left for Egypt….

Description:-

The sculpture of Mary and Jesus on the donkey is very beautiful. Mary is holding the Christ Child in both hands as He sit on her lap looking out to his right. Jesus is clothed in a white v necked tunic.

Mary is clothed in a red dress with a blue clock and her head is covered with a white shawl.

The donkey is very well defined, a strong head and painted an olive green.

Joseph is dressed in a long grey tunic that is long sleeved with a round neck and collar and he is wearing green robe over the top of the tunic.

His head is covered by a white cloth and held in place with a red band.

Joseph has a branch over his left shoulder held with his left hand and it has a tied bag on the end of it.

The right foot of Mary can be seen under the folds of her dress and she has on sandals.

The feet of Jesus are covered.

The covered feet of Joseph can be clearly seen under his tunic.

Both sculptures are finely carved with great attention to detail.

All three faces are nicely carved.

The carved drapery on the figures is very expressive and well done.

This is the work of a mature confident wood carver.

This sculpture would be dated at the end of the 19^th century, though no date is on the sculpture.

Comments:-

Considering the age of these two sculptures there is no significant damage, all hands fingers and faces are intact.

The left hand of Jesus has been repaired at some stage but in no way detracts from the magnificence of this piece.

The paint work is in reasonable, good condition.

The base has a few marks on it and one small hole is visible but considering the age of the piece it is in excellent condition.

This is a wonderful sculpture by Tampinco at the height of his craftsmanship, a great example of his genius.

 Signature:-

The signature< “ILT” can be found of the left side of the base at the back

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Written by:-

Mark Shellshear.

Art Consultant.

markshellshear@gmail.com

Isabelo Tampinco - “ The Holy Family”

“The Holy Family”, original title unknown. 

Isabelo Tampinco [ 1885 – 1933 ]

Three [3] pieces, carved and painted wood on wooden bases.

Dimensions.

Jesus :- 34cm high x 31cm wide x 10cm deep.

Base, 19.5cm x 18cm x 6,5cm high.

Joseph:- 64cm high x 32cm wide x 22cm deep.

Base, 26cm x 25cm x 6.5cm high.

Mary :- 62cm high x 31cm wide x20cm deep.

Base, 26cm x 25cm x 6.5cm high.

Signed “ I L T” bottom left side, corner of the base on Joseph.

Isabelo Tampinco carved these figures, probably around the late 1860's, early 1870's, the sculptures have no date on them.

The two adult figures of Mary and Joseph are heavily robed with two garments each, yet Jesus is only clothed in a long tunic.

 Mary is dressed in a long red dress and has a blue robe/wrap over her right shoulder and it is caught at the waist.

 Joseph is wearing a long green cassock/tunic and has a brown robe/wrap over his left shoulder and caught at his waist.

The neckline of both Mary and Joseph garments are identical.

The long tunic that Jesus is wearing is colored brown and is round necked.

All garments are long sleeved and caught around the waist with a belt.

The drapery on both adult figures is very expressive and in great detail.

All three are wearing closed in shoes.

Jesus is reaching up to both Mary and Joseph.

Mary has her left hand out towards Jesus and Joseph has his right reaching out to Jesus.

Mary is to the right of Jesus.

All figures have uncovered heads.

Signature.

Only the statue is signed on the front left corner of the base “ I L T ”.

 Comments.

It is our considered opinion that these are very early works of Tampinco. Even maybe part of his apprenticeship years. Our reasons for this consideration are a few interesting things.

The garments on Mary and Joseph are identical, but for the colors.

The child is depicted around the age of 6 or 7 but his autonomy is not to the same standard of latter Tampinco's.

Also in later works the figures are always wearing open toed shoes, sandals or bare feet.

Another consideration is the identical clothing on the adult figures.

Considering the age of these sculptures the are in very good condition, the fingers on the hands are complete as are the faces.

The paint is all original and there is no noticeable repairs or restoration.

 Final thoughts.

These three sculptures are very good early works of the master Tampinco. It is so wonderful to be able to see early work and understand the progression that took place in this abilities throughout the years.

I can recommend these pieces because they are very early works and I think gives us a wonderful insight into the sculpture.

They are in excellent condition and must be around 140 plus years old.

They are very fine specimens of early Tampinco work.

Written by:-

Mark Shellshear.

Art consultant.

markshellshear@gmail.com