Unlocking history through wood

MANILA, Philippines — Learning the history of an artwork, artifact or even a church can start by simply identifying the type of wood its creators used.

Take Juan Luna’s paintings. The National Museum tapped the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI) to determine the wood species used in the canvas or frames of seven of Luna’s masterpieces.

Within 10 days, the FPRDI, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology, discovered that the imposing frame on Luna’s magnum opus “Spoliarium” was made of yakal, a durable hardwood resistant to termites and endemic to the Philippines.

Three of Luna’s paintings – “Study for Obreros en el taller de convertidores Robert de ‘La Vizcaya’” (circa 1893-1894), “My Brother in Our Cell in Fort Santiago” (circa 1896-1897) and “Madrid Wench” (undated) – used ipil and batikuling as canvases, indicating they were created in the Philippines.

Glenn Estudillo, a forester who conducted the wood identification, said this information is valuable for the museum’s record-keeping and future restoration efforts.

“Because of a lack of records, there are paintings that (the National Museum) doesn’t know if Juan Luna made here or in other countries, so the wood will help us know if the artworks were made in the Philippines or abroad,” Estudillo told The STAR last week.

“This info will also help in restoring frames, allowing us to suggest whether the wood is still available in the market or if other substitutes can be used,” he added.

The FPRDI has an existing memorandum of agreement with the National Museum, and Estudillo’s team has assessed the wood species of masterpieces by venerable artists like Felix Hidalgo and Fernando Amorsolo.

Estudillo photographs the sample and compares it with the cross-section of the wood species using a digital microscope. The cross-section provides the distinguishing marks of wood, just as a fingerprint does for humans.

Only the FPRDI is authorized to conduct official wood identification and issue certifications based on its assessments.

The agency holds the most comprehensive xylarium, or a collection of authenticated wood specimens, in the Philippines.

The FPRDI’s xylarium is one of only 26 worldwide recognized by the International Association of Wood Specimens.

Stories behind churches

The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) is also collaborating with the FPRDI to assess ancient churches prior to their restoration.

One discovery was from the Visayas and Mindanao. Our ancestors didn’t use batikuling – the conventional wood chosen for ease of carving – for religious icons or church interiors, but instead used local species available nearby.

In Siquijor’s Lazi Church, locals used red lauan wood – also known as Philippine mahogany with the scientific name Shorea negrosensis and originating from Negros Island – for religious images and church construction.

While in Misamis Oriental’s Jasaan Church, missionaries built the twin towers using molave wood, which is also used in traditional medicines.

Both red lauan and molave are not ideal for carving, Estudillo explained, because of their density and strength.

“I was amazed because these are not traditional species for wood carving, yet they’re used,” the forester said. “Molave is used in galleons and railroad ties. That’s how hard and strong it is.”

“That’s why we can see that the artists before are good at adapting, because whatever material you give them, they do it for wood carving. They are flexible,” he added.

Still, Estudillo found traces of batikuling in some images in the Visayas, such as a sole image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Panay Island, suggesting a deeper history.

“A lot of doors and windows are opening for (the NHCP) to further study the wooden artifacts there and in the churches,” he said.

The NHCP, Estudillo added, will now have a clearer idea of how to restore churches without using incompatible materials.

“You need to identify the material so you can use the same,” he said. “If you use the wrong species that isn’t durable, pest infestation will really happen, and the inferior materials will be affected first.”