Stolen artifacts proof of flourishing trade

Rare artifacts recently stolen from their temporary repository in Pasay City are clear pieces of evidence that there was flourishing trade between the Philippines and its Asian neighbors before the coming of the Spaniards.

"They are very significant because they represent a period in time before the coming of the Spaniards where the trade was really flourishing between mainland Southeast Asia and (surrounding) islands," said Dr. Eusebio Dizon of the National Museum, which owns the artifacts.

The lost items are part of a hoard recovered from an ancient shipwreck off Sta. Cruz town in Zambales. Several pieces are already safely stored at the National Museum.

"And at this stage, because there is no written history, we can extract very good information from the archeological evidence and this is one of them," said Dizon, who heads the underwater archeology section of the museum and is director of archeological studies at the University of the Philippines.

Dizon said underwater archeology would enable researchers to gauge how much trade flourished in pre-Hispanic times, which he conjectured could have been one reason why the colonizers came.

"The richness of trade was there. There was this vast opportunity and the market economy that was happening in the Philippines," he said, adding that it was clear that the first boats that regularly docked in the country were not Spanish galleons.

The STAR recently published photos of two of the three items reportedly stolen from the office of the Far Eastern Foundation for Nautical Archeology (FEFNA) on No. 2860 F. B. Harrison st. in Pasay City.

FEFNA partly financed the archeological project and is currently keeping some of the artifacts recovered from the shipwreck in Sta. Cruz, Zambales.

FEFNA and National Museum officials have reported the theft to the Pasay City police last Aug. 6 and the National Bureau of Investigation a week later.

The three items comprised a total of seven pieces, with each item going at an estimated P600,000 to P900,000, or about P200,000 to P300,000 per piece.

The items were one three-piece set of blue and white covered box; one set of blue and white double duck with cover; and one set of blue and white half-moon pouring vessel with cover.

In a report signed by Inspector Jaime Avila of the Pasay police, Cecile Bernardo, corporate secretary of FEFNA, and Eduardo Conese of the research division of the National Museum, said the artifacts were stolen on Aug. 6 at around 2 p.m. by unidentified suspects inside the FEFNA office.

Looting in Zambales

Dizon said the shipwreck in Sta. Cruz came to their attention because of news items stating looting activities of underwater archeological materials were taking place in Zambales.

At the time they were also investigating another wreck site off Manila Bay in Parañaque City, he said, adding that the Parañaque wreck was reported by the Philippine Coast Guard.

"The looting in Zambales became more prevalent because the artifacts taken out from the sunken vessel or shipwreck were from the 15th century AD, mainly Ming ceramics and jars," Dizon said, noting this dated to about 1485 to 1508, the Hong Zhi period.

"This was the period when ceramics were produced in China and at the same time, this particular sunken vessel or shipwreck is supposed to conduct trade between China, or whatever countries they may have come from, and the Philippines," he said.

"The materials were of the 15th century and here in Southeast Asia, they are very, very significant for us. In the local market, an item could go as high as P900,000. In totality, all the items would run to millions and millions of pesos," he said.

"The National Museum is the repository of all these rare items, heritage items, artifacts, the best pieces," the museum curator said.

Dizon said the Chinese blue and white porcelain were of good quality, and were actually designed for the Islamic world, the Arabian market.

This, he said, indicated there must have been thriving Islamic communities in the Philippines during the pre-Spanish era.

Aside from the Chinese porcelain, there were also Vietnamese and Thai wares and ceramics, he said.

Dizon said that a number of jars were taken out from the Zambales shipwreck, whose wooden remains are one of the best preserved.

On the down side, Dizon noted that after systematic archeological investigation of the site, it was found that some treasure hunters including fishermen from nearby villages dynamited the area and damaged about 30 percent of the items.

Dizon said that when the shipwreck was reported to the National Museum, many interested parties volunteered to do a joint project with them.

He said it was only FEFNA that can handle activities of this magnitude, though some rich local residents also expressed interest but just didn’t follow through.

Dizon explained that the sharing of the findings with the proponents, FEFNA, will cover the cost for the archeological excavation.

Dividing the artifacts

In another interview, Cecile Salcedo, deputy director of the National Museum, said the items form part of the finds of the underwater archeology project of Sta. Cruz, Zambales.

Salcedo said close to 11,000 to 12,000 items were recovered from the site, which are to be divided between the museum and FEFNA as per a memorandum of agreement.

"There is the museum share, and the proponents’ share which is for FEFNA. The project is being completed. We are now in the sharing phase," he said.

According to the MOA, the rare and unique pieces will go to the museum, while the rest are to be divided equally between the museum and the proponent.

After all items are duly processed, accessed, identified, and cleaned, the museum share will be stored in FEFNA temporarily before transport to the National Museum.

Salcedo said that a day after the items were reported stolen, they received calls that some of the pieces were being offered to collectors.

"Apparently one of the items being peddled was described as one of those reported missing, the double duck 15th-century ceramic piece. We were alarmed," he said.

He said they have informed their licensed dealers in Ermita about the loss just in case the precious finds turn up in their area, and have advised private collectors to be on the lookout for these items.

"We received a lot of... prank calls informing us it’s with them, and that they know the persons handling the objects," he said.

The case was also presented to the Anti-Organized Crime Division of the NBI last Tuesday. "Agents of that division are now in the offices of FEFNA to conduct an investigation, together with some of our people from the Cultural Properties Division of the National Museum," he said.

Suspects

Although museum officials declined to identify any suspects in the theft, Salcedo said a least two were those who worked during the processing of items at FEFNA.

"There are suspects. No one was identified yet. But the NBI, I think, is going to zero in on two people from FEFNA, not here. The personnel here are mostly scholars. FEFNA also hired people to help them out in the restoration and cleaning," Salcedo said.

"We hope that by next week something solid would come out," he added, and that criminal charges will be filed against the suspects.

Since the lost items are cultural properties, part of our cultural heritage, the case will fall under Presidential Decree 374, he said.

"Theft of antiquities, illegal traffic of antiquities, fencing, and other criminal charges. If ever it lands on a private person, these would be confiscated," he warned.

He also said that potential buyers should be advised against being duped.

"They cannot hold on to them. It’s useless buying these ... rare and not common items," he said.

Some of the items in the Zambales shipwreck have already been transferred to the National Museum, he said, and that more than a thousand items are now being inventoried.

"It’s very difficult to transfer. The bigger items such as jars are now locked inside the vault of the museum. But smaller items are still there at FEFNA" where stricter security has been imposed, he said.