Rosita Arcenas together with her children, led the ceremonial ribbon-cutting held last October 23, 2018, to signify the opening of the Rosita R. Arcenas Galleries. CDN Photos | Tonee Despojo
Once a personal antique collection that seated for many decades at Ramon and Rosita Arcenas’ ancestral house in Banawa, Cebu City, is now the center of attraction of the newly launched Rosita R. Arcenas Galleries at the University of San Carlos Museum.
After three years of curation, two galleries “Handumanan” and “Bahandi” which emerged from Mrs. Rosita R. Arcenas’ fondness of pre-colonial artifacts and ecclesiastical sculptures are now available to the public after its ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand launch last October 23, 2018.
The first gallery “Handumanan”, is Mrs. Arcenas’ lifework collection of Catholic saints and other religious imagery made of wood and ivory.
According to Dr. Clodoveo G. Nacorda, it’s an art exhibition of Filipinos’ religious beliefs even before the influence of Spanish colonizers. These were evidently manifested in their masterful handiwork of sculptures and carvings of idols and native deities.
One of the notable pieces from the collection is titled “El Señor Desmayado”, a life-size sculpture of Jesus Christ’s scourging at the pillar.
A contemporary of the 1950s, Mrs. Arcenas found it a delight to collect meaningful and rare ceramic trade wares, even the disfigured ones, back in her days.
This leads to the curation of “Bahandi”, a collection of over 500 pieces of rare ceramic artifacts artfully conveyed by Rita C. Tan.
The gallery exhibits ceramic wares that dates back from 11th to 19th century, back when maritime trade between China and Southeast Asia was still prevalent, with some even excavated from burials and shipwrecks.
Aiming to bring history back to life, University of San Carlos, together with the Arcenas family, invites everyone to visit the galleries as they urge everyone to rediscover our national heritage as it plays a major role in today’s culture and generation.
The Rosita R. Arcenas Galleries is located at University of San Carlos Museum, P. del Rosario Street, Cebu City.