La Naval de Manila.

The image of Our Lady of the Rosary, popularly known nowadays as

La Naval, is actually considered the oldest ivory carving in the

Philippines. It was carved by a non-Catholic Chinese sculptor under

the direction of Captain Hernando de los Rios Coronel. It is made

of elephant ivory which was commissioned in 1593 by Governor

General Luis Perez Dasmarinas for the Manila Dominicans. The

sculptor later became a convert.

The image is dressed in yards of precious cloth of gold embroidered

with silver thread. High-karat gold including precious jewels are part

of the crowns of Our Lady and the Child Jesus. These jewels were

donated by affluent devotees from several generations ago. Her garb

reflects an influence from the 17th century Spanish "Golden Age,"

but her features shows oriental characteristics.

The image suffered damage during the 1762 pillage of Manila by

British troops. In 1907, she was canonically crowned by the Papal

Nuncio, the first Marian image in the country to be so honored.

She narrowly missed destruction during the bombing of Manila in 1942,

and had to be evacuated to a safer locale. In 1954, she was finally

brought to her present home in the Dominican church in Quezon City.

Some scholars have wondered how authentic to the 1593 original the

present statue is. Other images of Our Lady of the Rosary were

commissioned for the same Dominican convent in Manila from the

early 17th century to the present day. In order to approach this art

historical problem, a number of investigations must been carried out.

(Source: wikipilipinas)

Comments

[Ian Francisco]

You have beautifully captured the Feast of Our Lady of Naval with your vibrant images! Brilliant photoessay! I am very happy that you immerse yourself and your photography with the Filipino culture and heritage. You will never ran out of interesting subjects to shoot! The lowering of our lady from the balcony is such a wonderful moment! It's as if She is descending to the people from heaven! The faith and love of the people for Our Lady is great. Your photos are amazing! Thank you for this post.

[angie]

the sequence of frames works really well, sidney.

[pieterbie]

Wow, Ivory, must be worth something. And she does a disapearing act :-)

[Marie]

joli graphisme dans les premières images.

[Arachne]

you have a great site here. keep it up. and thanks for the comment on my site as well. :D

[carla]

interesting info. =)

i like the colors too, it's so royal-looking.

[petitlouis]

Suspense à la vue des premières photos ... où est passée La Naval ?
Bien réalisé !

[Laurie]

Interesting info and great series of photos. So rich in tradition.

[Ashish Sidapara]

Beautiful images and thanks for all the info.

[Share]

I really like all the photos. I'm not a Christian so I've never actually got involved in any celebrations. Nevertheless, your entries have been immensely valuable and helpful for me to gain an insight into the world of Christianity and the beautiful churches.

[Lurch]

Very interesting information and your pictures tell a good story too. Very nice Sidney.

[Ruth]

She is quite stunning against the fleur de lis backdrop, wow.

[joy]

It is huge, isn't it? But it is a lovely statue.

[Gérard Méry]

Bonne idée cette suite grossissante de La Naval de Manila.

[Rach (Heart of Rachel)]

She's very beautiful vision.

[jms]

Grâce à toi, on connait maintenant tout l'histoire de cette sainte patronne. Excellent reportage!

[Allan]

Its nice to find this blog. You have really good articles on Philippine traditions and heritage. Great pics too!

[dong ho]

nice series sidney. i like how you captured the image being brought down. images like this has its own story of being miraculous.

[Ces]

You were gone when I did the Sacada Series. I dedicated that to you because I felt sad that you stopped blogging. I corrected the links so if you click on the label and the image, it will take you to the original series.

[watson]

I feel sad because Quezon City is relatively near Makati and yet I have never visited La Naval. I wish there will be an opportunity to go in the future.

Have you been to Manaoag as well, Sidney? That place is awe-inspiring as well. We had relatives visit there from Marinduque to ask help from our Lady of Manaoag to help cure a relative of cancer.

[JJ]

wonderful shots and such an informative post, thanks for the info very interesting reading

[dodong flores]

Uy! I should visit this church too. I'd pass by the church to which this saint is being housed but didn't know about La Naval. Nice set of photos. Very informative write up as well...

[Photo Cache]

I am loving this series too Sidney. Thanks for all the info. Also, where is this church? Did I miss reading it? You captured a tradition so perfectly.

[AC]

Lovely atmosphere and lighting in the snaps. Love how the orange at the background enhances the idol colors.