With very few existing original manuscripts, these intricate golden treasures offer a direct link to the Philippines’ pre-colonial flourishing past
“Pieces of gold, the size of walnuts and eggs, are found by sifting the earth in the island of that king who came to our ships,” chronicled the explorer, Antonio Pigafetta, about Raja Siagu upon the Spaniards’ arrival in Butuan during the Magellan expedition. “All the dishes of that king are of gold and also some portions of his house as we were told by that king himself. He had a covering of silk on his head, and wore two large golden earrings fastened in his ears ... At his side hung a dagger, the haft of which was somewhat long and all of gold, and its scabbard of carved wood. He had three spots of gold on every tooth, and his teeth appeared as if bound with gold.”
One can only imagine the awe that overcame these European explorers when they discovered such a rich and elaborate society. Even today the Philippines possesses one of the world’s largest gold deposits, and there is evidence that mining began as early as 1000 BC. By the time the Spanish conquistadors reached Philippine shores, the islands had a flourishing culture that traded in the precious metal and citizens adorned themselves in gold to display status.
It was in 1975, during an extensive construction project, that the Butuan archaeological site was discovered. During the excavation that followed, an enormous wealth of artefacts was unearthed: from high fired ceramics from China and Southeast Asia and Persian glassware, to impressive open water boats called balanghals, and one of the most significant findings of pre-colonial gold. “From excavations in Butuan in the 1970s and the irregular gold recoveries from the 1960s to the 1980s, as well as written Chinese sources from the Song Dynasty, Butuan appears to have been a thriving polity with a hierarchical social structure, and engaged in trade with neighbouring Southeast Asian cultures and China,” shares the curator of Ayala Museum’s Gold Exhibit, Florina H Capistrano-Baker, about the forgotten kingdom.
On another construction site in 1981, heavy machinery operator Berto Morales discovered approximately 22 pounds of gold pieces, now known as the Surigao Treasure. Some of these valuables showcased to rave reviews, intriguing an international audience at The Asia Society in New York in 2015, an exhibit also co-curated by Baker. “We as a people are always searching for our identity, but when you see this collection you think ‘Oh my goodness, that is the core! That is who we are!’”