Philippine Gold

Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms

This exhibition presents spectacular works of gold primarily discovered over the past forty years on the Philippine islands of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. The regalia, jewelry, ceremonial weapons, and ritualistic and funerary objects attest to the recently uncovered evidence of prosperity and achievement of Philippine polities that flourished between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, long before the Spanish discovered and colonized the region. Although the forms and styles of the majority of these works developed locally, some indicate that Philippine craftsmen had been exposed to objects from beyond their borders through the robust cultural connections and maritime trade in Southeast Asia during what was an early Asian economic boom. Read more.

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Kinnari (c. 10th–13th century), Surigao, gold Ayala Museum Collection. Photography by Neal Oshima; image courtesy of Ayala Museum

Goblet (c. 10th–13th century), Surigao, gold. Ayala Museum Collection. Photography by Neal Oshima; image courtesy of Ayala Museum

Ear ornaments (c. 10th–13th century), Arasasan, Mindanao, gold. Ayala Museum Collection. Photography by Neal Oshima; image courtesy of Ayala Museum

Ear ornament, (c. 10th–13th century), Eastern Visayas or Northeastern Mindanao, gold. Ayala Museum Collection. Photography by Neal Oshima; image courtesy of Ayala Museum

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