LOOKING BACK AND LETTING GO
The Philippine Star
|June 01, 2025
As any friend who's had the privilege of being invited to his Makati home quickly realizes, Ambeth Ocampo is more than the engaging public intellectual we all know, whose Looking Back series has made history come alive for young Filipinos.
As any friend who's had the privilege of being invited to his Makati home quickly realizes, Ambeth Ocampo is more than the engaging public intellectual we all know, whose Looking Back series has made history come alive for young Filipinos. He's also an inveterate collector of rare Filipiniana—books, ephemera, art, and historical objects—all of which come with the territory he works in.
There have been many Filipinos of a similar bent—the legendary Alfonso Ongpin and the late Ramon Villegas come to mind, as well as the more contemporary Jimmy Laya, Melvin Lam, and Edward de los Santos, among others—but the way Ambeth has amassed his collection is noteworthy on its own, as it folds the personal almost imperceptibly into the professional.
It comes pretty close to the classic prescription for murder—means, motive, and opportunity—all captured in his classic story of how he stumbled on and picked up Emilio Jacinto's silver quill, a writing prize, from an antiques dealer who didn't bother to learn what it was and let it go for its scrap value. (Having as much of Ambeth's desire for antiquarian junk but with much less knowledge and certainly less means, I've often joked, between the two of us, that Ambeth's the scholar and I'm the scavenger.)
Jacinto's quill, along with a trove of other historical treasures from Ambeth's personal collection, will be up for auction on June 7 at Leon Gallery. They include Juan Luna's silver belt, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo's walking stick, an official copy of the Malolos Constitution, Philippine maps from 1616 and 1647, and the Noceda and Sanlucar Vocabulario de la Lengua Tagala from 1860, among many others.
Knowing how precious these objects were, I had to ask Ambeth more about them, and this is what he said.
What made you think of selling these treasures now? Surely it can't be easy letting go of them after being their caretaker all this time?
このストーリーは、The Philippine Star の June 01, 2025 版からのものです。
Magzter GOLD を購読すると、厳選された何千ものプレミアム記事や、10,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスできます。
すでに購読者ですか? サインイン
The Philippine Star からのその他のストーリー
The Philippine Star
DOT gets flak after Frasco lands on magazine cover
The Department of Tourism (DOT) is in hot water again, this time after an advertising and production executive took a swipe at a magazine that prominently featured Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco on its cover.
1 min
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
Market Outlook 2026: What buyers and investors can expect this year
2025 is behind us, and as the year ended, the real estate industry once again finds itself at that familiar crossroads of looking back at what shaped the market and looking ahead to what may define the next.
3 mins
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
EcoWaste urges trash-free traslacion
Ahead of the celebration of the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Jan. 9, environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition yesterday appealed to devotees to make this year’s traslacion trash-free.
1 min
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
New Year's Eve grenade attack: 22 wounded
Twenty-two people including minors were wounded when two motorcycle-riding men hurled a grenade at a group of residents a few minutes before midnight on Wednesday in Matalam, Cotabato.
2 mins
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
Choco Mucho acquires Laure
The Choco Mucho Flying Titans have caught a big fish in Eya Laure.
1 min
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
A YEAR OF BOLD LEADERSHIP, LIFE-CHANGING SERVICE, AND ROBUST RESILIENCE
President Marcos Jr. delivers for every Filipino at home and abroad
3 mins
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
MGEN spending P8.8 B for Cebu coal project
Pangilinan-led Meralco PowerGen Corp. (MGEN) will invest roughly $150 million (about P8.8 billion) in expanding its coal-fired power capacity in Cebu, its top executive said.
1 min
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
Stocks pull lower at end of record year for markets
Stock markets mostly retreated on the last trading day of 2025, following a year of record gains for key assets as central banks cut interest rates and the tech sector boomed thanks to the growth of artificial intelligence.
2 mins
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
New Year in Metro peaceful - NCRPO
New Year celebrations in Metro Manila have been peaceful, according to the National Capital Region Police Office.
1 min
January 02, 2026
The Philippine Star
NBA Christmas viewership hits 15-year high with 47 M viewers
The NBA saw its best Christmas Day viewership numbers in 15 years, the league announced on Wednesday.
1 min
January 02, 2026
Listen
Translate
Change font size

