The URNA, a miniature (both in the Baroque and Rococo style) housing for santos made up of molave slices pegged together by mortise. The overall surfaces have floral and architectural relief, deeply carved and painted with oil colors; some were even gilded. Very similar to a tabernacle except the structure is elevated on a grada; a polygonal panel that is wider at the bottom with stepped sides. The center compartment where the santo is housed has sliding doors often with a painting of a chalice. An interpretation of a early 18th century urna courtesy of Atty. Lucas Nunag exhibited at the Amarela’s art gallery.

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Our "icons" have not been painted by Fra Angelico, but they were painted by local artists whose works have traveled through time. The icons in our churches (now lost and gone) are not worth many tens of pesos, and certainly not when they were painted in the 17th and the 18th century, but their values to us have increased and are incalculable for many reasons. Each icon painted by our local artists has its own historical backgrounds and holds a treasured place in our cultural heritage.
An interprétation of a mid-18th century icon of San Jose, now at the Bishop’s Palace in Tagbilaran. Painted in bright orange, green and yellow - oil on century old molave panel. The indigo blue (aniel) were also commonly used for murals and urnas.

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This is an interpretation of a late 17th century parochial statue of the San Jose; the patron saint of the Libaong chapel in Panglao. The main retablo of this chapel was fully restored to its original form and then gilded much later. The stairway to the choir loft was remodeled and the banisters were also gilded. Another interpretation of a Boholano School Stations of the Cross hangs on the sacred walls of this chapel, thus awakening the consciousness to other restoration and conservation projects after this.
A "santo" normally refers to a sacred figure of whatever medium. Imahen refers to sacred paintings. But what was originally considered as sacred object is now an antique; an objeto de arte. Bohol was once where retablos, urnas, santos, kulit sa papan, relieves and icons overflowed the churches and houses, making this province the favorite hunting ground for antique dealers. This website, though, is not a catalog of Objetos de Artes for sale, but rather an exhibit of Bohol’s outstanding patrimony raising the awareness in conserving our traditional arts and culture.

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My objective of conserving the murals are to remove or change as little original material as possible and the addition of new material will be justified and kept to the smallest possible amount. I strive to restore the original appearance of the artwork by using only those materials and traditional techniques which were used originally by the artist. This will insure not only aesthetic but also physical integrity and continuity. This excludes cases of serious damages; like the holes, deep scratches and the oxidation of the original steel plates; likewise, only such materials and techniques will be used that are compatible with the original materials. In addition, the documentation of my work will also contain photographs taken before and after the treatment.

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BEFORE THE RESTORATION OF THE MATUTINA FRAME OF BACLAYON CHURCH
The use of water base paints to inpaint damages on the Matutina Frame is an example of a technique I utilized to achieve almost complete reversibility. Conservation can involve the cleaning and stabilization of the murals. Cleaning is not a reversible process and can sometimes be controversial due to fears that cleaning would damage the murals. So now the Matutina Frame had undergone first cleaning to remove dirt that had accumulated on the mural’s surface over the years, though I believe that the murals had undergone either “paint washing”, a process by applying a very thin layer of diluted paint before totally erasing the murals. Except for the four replaced steel plates, the rest of the paintings and designs of the murals were left untouched, and I only painted over uncovered areas or where there were totally destroyed or no signs of paints. For the four replaced steel plates I also used the same methods, designs, and reconstructed the ones still traceable from the late artist’s painting. The murals on steel plates are located on the three arches under the choir loft of Baclayon Church.

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An early 1800 interpretation of a Boholano counterpart of the triptych;
"kulit sa papan" Made out of molave with pegged doors and a painting of San Antonio de Padua on oil, a medium that was costly during those times.
The kulit sa papan was used as a didactic tool for catechism.

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