Exhibit of antique shawls talks international trade

MEZCLA: Interwoven Cultures and the Mantón de Manila, an exhibit at the Ayala Museum, shows off antique examples of mantóns dating from the 1800s.

- Joseph L. Garcia

More than pretty shawls that you could imagine flouncing about in, each example shows the complex avenues of trade between the Spanish Empire, the Chinese Empire, and old Manila.

At the exhibit’s opening on Oct. 9, guests crowded around these examples of antique silk, painstakingly embroidered in China, brought to the Philippines, sent to Mexico, and then on to Spain. To this day, the shawls play some part in Spanish culture, seen in flamenco and jota dances, as well as at festivals.

Marinella Andrea Mina, curator and senior manager for research and publications at the Ayala Museum said that the collection is on loan from Verónica Durán Castello, who has been collecting them for the past 25 years and inherited some pieces. But due to some issues with permits regarding some of her heirloom pieces embedded with ivory, these were unfortunately not on display.