Asia Society, New York, and Ayala Museum, Philippines present

Philippine Gold
Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms

September 11, 2015 to January 3, 2016
Asia Society and Museum
New York

Join us this fall for an exhibition of spectacular works of gold that highlight the prosperity and achievements of the Philippine Kingdoms, which flourished long before the Spanish discovered and colonised the region. Many of the objects–including exquisite regalia, jewellery, functional and ritualistic objects, ceremonial weapons, and funerary masks from the Ayala Museum and Bangkok Sentral ng Pilipinas Collections–are on view for the first time ever outside of the Philippines.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of opening events and a season of programming that will highlight the richness and diversity of Philippine culture and current affairs, and explore its cuisine, performing arts, film, design, literature, and more.

For more information, please visit the following links:

Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms
Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms Opening Gala
Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms Premiere Night Gala
Re-collecting a Forgotten Past: Traces of Hindu-Buddhist Art in Precolonial Philippines
Encounters with Early Asian Gold

To arrange a group tour of this special exhibition, please call 212.327.9237 or email [email protected].

ORGANIZED by ASIA SOCIETY, NEW YORK, and AYALA MUSEUM, PHILIPPINES

MUSEUM HOURS AND ADMISSION
Tuesday-Sunday, 11 AM-PM
Extended (free admission) hours on Fridays, 6-9 PM
$ 12 Adults; $10 Seniors; $7 Students with ID.
Free for members and children under 16.

DIRECTIONS
Subway: 6 train to 68th St
Hunter College or
F train to 63rd St/
Lexington Avenue

ASIA SOCIETY and MUSEUM
725 Park Ave. (at 70th St.)
New York | 212.288.6400
AsiaSociety.org/NYC

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Manila, Philippines – This September, Asia Society and Ayala Museum, with special participation from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), bring a groundbreaking gold exhibition from the Philippines to New York. Between September 11, 2015, to early-January 2016, the exhibit Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms will feature over 120 spectacular gold objects dated between the 10th and 13th century, on loan from the collections of Ayala Museum and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

The Philippine Gold exhibition in New York brings to fore in the world stage a truly fascinating yet little known aspect about the Philippines’ rich heritage.

Over a three-month period, Asia Society Museum is hosting a spectacular display of pre-colonial gold treasures such as gold necklaces, chains, waistbands, bangles, ritual bowls, implements, and ceremonial weapons. These rare artifacts reveal the sophisticated civilizations that flourished before the Spaniards arrived at Philippine shores. The gold pieces also portray the thriving maritime trade in the region, exemplifying the influence of Indians, Indonesians, and the Chinese, among other peoples, on the Philippine culture.

Beginning with the opening gala dinner on September 10, an exciting line-up of activities is scheduled to expand the spotlight on Philippine culture. Surrounding programming include academic lectures, a pop-up Philippine food bar, musical events, art and design exhibitions, a film festival and live cultural performances. These activities will be supported by other events organized by Asia Society Philippines in Manila.

Driving the Philippine Gold exhibition are Gala Benefit Committee chairs Doris Masaysay-Ho, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, and Loida Nicolas Lewis, with support from BSP Governor Amando Maglalang Tetangco. For this national undertaking, they have entrusted Nina Capistrano-Baker, curator at Ayala Museum, and Adriana Proser, John H. Foster Senior Curator for Traditional Asian Art at Asia Society New York, to co-curate the Philippine gold treasures at the New York exhibition.

Doris Magsaysay-Ho, Asia Society Philippine chair, believes that the Philippine Gold exhibition is extremely timely just as the country hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit this November. “While the Philippines has a lot of press coming out on economic issues, we thought there could also be a cultural story,” says Magsaysay-Ho. “These artifacts are also very little known scholarship-wise, so with the opportunity to bring them to New York, we are holding symposiums that place the collection in the whole realm of historical scholarship in the Austronesian context.”

Ayala Corporation’s Fernando Zobel de Ayala anticipates the pride the exhibition will instill in Filipinos around the world. “We are delighted to have this opportunity to exhibit this exceptional Filipino 10th to 13th century gold from the Ayala Museum and Bangko Sentral collections at the Asia Society in New York”, says Zobel de Ayala. “It will give Americans and visitors to New York the opportunity to get to know more about our rich culture and I have no doubt that it will also give Filipino Americans great pride to see these pieces from their country.”

BSP Governor Amando Maglalang Tetangco, Jr. says that “This exhibit is an excellent opportunity to showcase our pre-colonial cultural heritage. This is going to be the first time that the Philippine pre-Hispanic gold will be seen in the States. This is an opportune time for other people to know more about the Philippines and get to know the rich cultural heritage of our country.”

Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms is made possible by Ayala Corporation, with additional support provided by exhibition partners Bank of Philippine Islands, Del Monte Foods, Inc., Philippine Airlines, ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel and Tourism Promotions Board Philippines and exhibition benefactors CLSA, Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines, First Philippine Holdings Corporation, Goldman Sachs Gives, J.P. Morgan, Philam Life, an AIA Company, San Miguel Corporation, UBS AG and Western Union®. Philippine media partners are Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Tatler.

For more information, please visit www.AsiaSociety.org/Philippines2015. For inquiries, contact Jenny Rockett at Asia Society Philippines: [email protected] or 550-2612 / 810-8983. To arrange a group tour of this special exhibition in New York, please call + 1 212.327.9237 or email [email protected]. For full press kit, please click here.

Bangko Sentral Governor Amado Tetangco Jr., Asia Society Philippines chair Doris Magsaysay-Ho and Ayala Corp. president and chief executive Fernando Zobel de Ayala attend the press presentation/conference on Philippine Gold: Treasures of Forgotten Kingdoms exhibit that will be held in New York on Sept. 11, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016.  Photo: REVOLI CORTEZ

Event Made Possible By:

Critical support for Philippine Gold provided by
Ayala Corporation

Philippine Gold Partners
Bank of the Philippine Islands
Del Monte Foods, Inc.

Additional support provided by
CLSA
Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines
First Philippine Holdings Corporation
Goldman Sachs Gives
J.P. Morgan
Mr. & Mrs. Oscar M. Lopez
Philam Life, An AIA Company
San Miguel Corporation
UBS AG
Western Union®
Anonymous

Travel Partner
Philippine Airlines

Media Partner
ABS-CBN The Filipino Channel

With special thanks to
Tourism Promotions Board Philippines

Support for Asia Society Museum is provided by Asia Society Council on Asian Art and Thought, Asia Society Friends of Asian Arts, Arthur Ross Foundation, Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation, The Mitch and Joleen Julis Contemporary Art Initiative, Sheryl and Charles R. Kaye Endowment for Contemporary Art Exhibitions, Hazen Polsky Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. 

Event Poster: