national museum by jp espena

8/22/2019 National Museum by JP Espena

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POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

WRITTEN REPORT ABOUT

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF

THE PHILIPPINES

SUBMITTED BY:

ESPEA, JOHN PAULO M.

BSME II-2

SUBMITTED TO:MR. MARIANITO M. DIMAANDAL

APRIL 2, 2012


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FUTURE GALLERIES, EXHIBITS, BRANCHES

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Department of Tourism to be transformed into

Museum of Natural History

The Department of Tourism building will soon

be retrofitted to house the third museum in

what shall become Manilas Museum Precinct.

Anchoring the precinct is the newly

completed National Gallery of Art, formerly

the Senate Building on Burgos Drive, where

the countrys definitive collection of

paintings is on display.

Across the street is the Museum of the Filipino People that once was

the Department of Finance Building, whose curved faade frames

Agrifina Circle.

Across the Circle is its twin structure, the DOT building, originally

the Department of Agriculture building.

The three heritage buildings, all in Neoclassical style, dating from

pre-World War II American colonial era, form an elegant architectural

cluster on the eastern end of Rizal Park along Taft Avenue.

This urban ensemble, once completed, will undoubtedly evolve into one

of the most remarkable open-air spaces, a landmark in congestedManila.

The National Museum of the Philippines invited five architects to

submit design concepts in a closed competition for the DOT

retrofitting.

The board of trustees awarded the project to the team of architect

Dominic Galicia and interior designer Tina Periquet.

In preparation for their design,

Galicia and Periquet combed the

National Museum premises, went intoits laboratories and dug into

storage facilities, looked at

specimens and interviewed the staff

of scientists before realizing that

DNA is the stuff that connects us

all.


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National Museum of the Philippines

The National Museum of the Philippines is the official repository

and guardian of the Philippines' natural and cultural heritage. As one

of the lead government cultural agencies, it is tasked to achieve the

goals of instilling cultural consciousness and a sense of pride and

nationalism among Filipino citizens through its activities coveringthe sciences, education and culture.

Established in 1901 as an ethnography and natural history museum,

and subsequently housed in its present building which was designed in

1918 by the American Architect, Daniel Burnham, the National Museum

has since then broadened its concerns in the arts and sciences. Today,

it occupies the main building (former Old Congress Building) where the

arts, natural sciences and other support divisions are housed and the

adjacent former Finance building in the Agrifina Circle of Rizal Park

now called The National Museum of the Filipino People where the

Anthropology and Archaeology Divisions are housed.

HISTORY

The National Museum started in 1901 as the Insular Museum of

Ethnology, Natural History and Commerce under the Department of Public

Instruction by virtue of Act No. 284 passed by the Philippine

Commission. The name was changed in 1903 to Bureau of Ethnological

Survey under the Department of Interior. After the St. Louis

Exposition in 1904 the Office was renamed the Philippine Museum. The

Bureau of Ethnological Survey which had a division called thePhilippine Museum was abolished as a separate bureau and was made

merely a Division of Ethnology under the Bureau of Education by

virtue of Act No. 1407. In 1906, the Philippine Commission transferred

the Division of Ethnology of the Bureau of Education to the Bureau of

Science which had other branches of Natural Science such as botany,

geology and paleontology, entomology, ichthyology, herpetology and

mammalogy.


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In 1916, the Philippine Legislature passed Act No. 2572

organizing the Philippine Library and Museum from the former division

of archives, patents, copyright, trademarks and corporation of the

executive bureaus; the former law library of the Philippine Assembly

and the former Philippine Library. The Division of Ethnology continued

to function under the Bureau of Science. In 1926, Act No. 3437 passedby the Philippine Legislature recreated the National Museum of the

Philippines as part of the Department of Agriculture and National

Resources and these consisted of the Ethnology Division and the

Division of History and Fine Arts. The Division of Natural Science was

not included in the organization.

Again in 1933, the Philippine Legislature passed Act No. 4007

abolishing the National Museum and distributing its activities,

functions and materials to the following:

1.The Division of Fine Arts and History to the National Library;2.The Ethnology Division to remain with the Bureau of Science;3.The Division of Anthropology which included archaeology,

ethnography and physical anthropology and the other sections of

natural history of the Bureau of Science were organized into a

National Museum Division with Dr. Leopoldo B. Faustino as its

first chief.

In 1939, an administrative order renamed the division as the

Natural History Museum Division, but after the Commonwealth Act No.

453 made the Division an independent unit directly under the office of

the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce.

The Japanese occupation saw the abolition of the Natural History

Museum Division, but after the liberation of the Philippines in 1945,

it was reestablished under the Department of Agriculture and Commerce

National Museum (former Legislative

Building) before World War II National Museum (former LegislativeBuilding) after World War II


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and placed it under the Office of the Executive Secretary. In 1951,

Executive Order No. 392 transferred the National Museum to the

Department of Education.

The reorganization of the Department was implemented in 1988. The

National Museum's organizational structure together with its functionswere improved and expanded. The Archaeology Division was created from

a section of the Anthropology Division. It's function is to conduct

researches on the prehistory of the Philippines in order to define the

foundation of the culture of the people through systematic

archaelogical excavations of land and underwater sites. Two existing

divisions were renamed and their functions were expanded: the

Restoration and Engineering Division takes charge of the

implementation of Presidential Decree Nos. 260 and 756. It conducts

nationwide surveys and documentation of important immovable cultural

properties of the Philippines and has general supervision over the

restoration, preservation,, reconstruction and remodelling ofimmovable cultural properties. The Archaeological Sites and Branch

Museum Divisions that administers. maintains, preserves artifacts in

situ in the archaeological sites, is also authorized to establish

branch museums in the different regions of the country, concomittant

with its goal of bringing the museum closer to the majority of the

people in the countryside.

In the same year, two Presidential Proclamations on culture were

issued by the President of the Philippines, pursuant to the 1987

Constitution, giving priority programs to the arts and culture. These

were Presidential Proclamation No. 269, proclaiming the period from

1988 to 1998 as "The Decade of Centennials of the Filipino

Nationalism, Nationhood and the Philippine Revolutionary Movement" and

Presidential Proclamation No. 270 authorizing the National Museum to

conduct a National Educational and Fund Campaign for the period June

12, 1988 to June 12, 1989.

On 26 January 1996, President Fidel V. Ramos signed

Administrative Order No. 246 that created a Presidential Committee to

oversee the rehabilitation of the National Museum complex. Earlier in

October 1994, the President instructed the Secretaries of Finance andTourism to prepare for the eventual turnover of the Finance and

Tourism buildings to the National Museum.

In December 1995, the Department of Finance transferred to Bangko

Sentral Complex and turned over the Finance building to the National

Museum. The Department of Tourism was scheduled to turn over the

Tourism building by the end of 1997.


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In mid-1996, the Philippine Senate, in a historic move, vacated

the Senate Chambers of the Executive House paving the way for its turn

over to the National Museum thus providing the institution with the

three buildings within the Agrifina Circle that would now form the

National Museum precinct, the heart and soul of the National Museum

system.

On February 12, 1998, President Fidel V. Ramos approved and

signed Republic Act No. 8492, also known as the 'National Museum Act

of 1998' that established a National Museum System and provided for

its permanent home, among others.

In June 1998, the new National Museum located at the former

Finance Building precinct was opened with the formal inauguration of

the National Museum of the Filipino People and the exhibition of the

permanent exhibit, The Story of the Filipino People, and the world-

class travelling exhibit, The Treasures of the San Diego, which wasreturned to the Philippines after its world tour of Paris, Madrid, New

York and Berlin. The formal inauguration formed a key part of the

grand celebration of the Philippine centennial.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVESThe National Museum has a tri-dimensional goal covering diverse fields

of knowledge through various educational, scientific and cultural

activities.

As an educational institution, the National Museum disseminates

scientific and technical knowledge in more understandable and

practical forms through lectures, exhibitions, interviews, and

publications for students and the general public.

As scientific institution, the National Museum conducts basic research

programs combining integrated laboratory and field work in

anthropology and archaeology, geology and paleontology, botany and

zoology. It maintains reference collections on these disciplines and

promotes scientific development in the Philippines.

As a cultural center, the National Museum has taken the lead in thestudy and preservation of the nation's rich artistic, historic and

cultural heritage in the reconstruction and rebuilding of our nation's

past and venerating the great individuals who helped in the building

of our nation.


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BRANCHES

National Art Gallery(Old Legislative Building)

The building was originally designed as the public library by

Ralph Harrington Doane, the American consulting architect of the

Bureau of Public Works, and his assistant Antonio Toledo. Construction

began in 1918 but was suspended several times because of lack of

funds. When it was decided that the building should be used by the

Legislature, the revisions of the plans was entrusted to Juan

Arellano, then supervising architect of the Bureau. The building was

inaugurated on 16 July 1926, and by then had cost four million pesos.

The building was part of Daniel Burnham's plan for the

development of Manila. Upon its completion, the second, third, andfourth floors were occupied by the Senate and House of Representatives

while the ground floor was occupied by the National Library.

The 1934 Constitutional Convention was held in this building. On

its front steps Manuel L. Quezon was sworn in as President of the

Commonwealth. The Legislative Building was a casualty during the

bombing and shelling of Manila in 1945. It was reconstructed in 1946

following the original plans but with some revisions, such as the

replacement of flat pilasters of the stately rounded engaged columns.

In mid-1996, the Senate of the Philippines moved out of the

building. In 2003, renovation started to transform it into National

Art Gallery of the national Museum.

Museum of the Filipino People (Old Finance Building)

The Museum of the Filipino People is a component museum of the

National Museum of the Philippines that houses its Anthropology and

Archaeology Divisions. It is located in the Agrifina Circle, Rizal

Park, Manila adjacent to the main National Museum building which

houses the Museum of the Filipino People. Said latter buildingformerly housed the Department of Finance.


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Planetarium

The idea of putting up a modern Planetarium in Manila was

conceived in 1970s by the former National Museum Director Godofredo

Alcasid Sr. with the assistance of Mr. Maximo P. Sacro, Jr. of the

Philippine Weather bureau (now PAGASA) and one of the founders of the

Philippine Astronomical Society (PAS).

The project was presented to the former First Lady Mrs. Imelda R.

Marcos, then the Chairman of the National Parks and Development

Committee (NPDC). As one of her priority projects, Mrs. Marcos

requested the Department of Public Works and Highways to prepare the

Planetarium in one month time and allocate the funds for the

construction.

Construction of the building started in 1974 and took nine months

to finish it. It was formally inaugurated on October 8, 1975. The

Planetarium is located between the Reading Center and Chinese Garden

at the Luneta Park.

Affirming its establishment was Presidential Decree No. 804-Athat was issued on September 30, 1975. The Planetariums primary

function is to disseminate astronomical information through

planetarium shows, lectures, demonstrations, exhibits and actual

celestial observations. The unique feature of the Planetarium is the

true-to-life showing of astronomical bodies that captures the interest

and tickles the imagination of viewers. The Planetarium main

apparatus, the GM-15 Goto Planetarium Projector was acquired through

the Japanese Reparation Program in the Philippines.

Through the years, improvements have been made in the Planetarium

building through the efforts of its former Director Gabriel Casal and

presently Director Corazon S. Alvina.


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DIVISIONS

ARTS

The Arts Division is primarily concerned with the collection,

maintenance and exhibition of the art works by Filipino artists,

including, painting, and pieces of sculpture, graphic arts,

photography and other art forms. The aim is to be able to delineate

the various developments in the history of Philippine art by way of

the art pieces. It also provides services including evaluation and

authentication of art works conducted by a panel of experts from the

private sector, art classes and similar sessions; and technical

assistance to other institutions.

GALLERIES

The Old House of Representatives Session Hall (also known as "The Hall

of the Masters")

This room is dedicated to the 19th-century Filipino painters Juan Luna

and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo who achieved prominence at the 1884

Madrid Exposition. Luna's Spoliarium received one of the three gold

medals and Hidalgo's Virgenes Cristianas Expuestas al Populacho

(Christian Virgins Presented to the Populace) received one of the

fourteen silver medals.The Spoliarium is the most valuable oil-on-

canvas painting by Juan Luna. With a size of4.22 meters x 7.675 meters, it is the largest

painting in the Philippines. A historical

painting, it was made by Luna in 1884 as an

entry to the prestigious Exposicion de Bellas

Artes (Madrid Art Exposition, May 1884) and

eventually won for him the First Gold Medal.

In front of Spoliarium is another large painting

by Felix Hidalgo entitled La Tragedia de

Gobernador Bustamante (The Assasination of

Governor Bustamante). In the painting you'll find

Spanish priests attacking the appointed Spanish

Governor General to the Philippines.


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Gallery I (Luis I. Ablaza Hall)

Colonial Philippine religious art

from the 17th to the 19th centuries,

prominent among which is aretablo from

the Church of San Nicols de Tolentinoin Dimiao, Bohol a NationalCultural

Treasure together with a selection of

carved religious images (santos),

reliefs and polychromes.

Gallery II (FCCP Hall)

The earliest Philippine

paintings depicting a historical

political event, the Basi Revoltseries by Esteban Villanueva of

Vigan(on permanent loan from the

Ilocus Sur Historical and Cultural

Foundation). Done in 1821, these

fourteen paintings,were collectively

declared as a National Cultural

Treasure. They depict in nave and

vivid style the famous 1807 uprising in Ilocos against colonial rule that

would improve tariffs and restrictions on their famous sugarcane-based wine.

Gallery III

Philippine art of the academic and romantic period, specifically of the last

three decades of the 19th century, featuring especially the Museums

considerable holdings of the work of Juan Luna and key contemporaries.

Highlights include works by Lorenzo Guerrero, Gaston OFarrell, and National

Cultural Treasures such as Feeding the Chickens, one the earliest known

Philippine genre paintings, by Simon Flores, as well as the famous

UnaBulaqueaby Juan Luna. Featured also are nearly 100 works by Luna that

formed part of the historic donation of the GraceLuna de San Pedro Collection

by the Far East Bankand Trust Company in the early 1990s.

Feeding the

Chicken by

Simon FloresStudy of Cervantes, Padres Dominicos, and Una Bulaquena by

Juan Luna


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Gallery IV (Fundacin Santiago Hall)

Continuing the theme and late 19th century period of the previous

gallery, works by Flix Resurreccin Hidalgo are featured together

with sculptures by IsabeloTampinco (Key works of which are the Gift of

Ernesto and Araceli Salas).

Gallery V

Works by the polymath and

National Hero, Dr. Jos P.

Rizal, including four original

sculptures and one fine drawing

from his 1886 sojourn in Berlin

(the Gift of Aurora Ortega-

Carlos in memory of Pablo C.

Carlos).

Included is Rizals work MothersRevenge, a

declared National Cultural Treasure, as well as

several portrait busts and paintings of Rizal by

eminent Filipino artists, including

IsabeloTampinco, GracianoNepomuceno, Guillermo

Tolentino and Martino Abellana from the early

20th century until the 1950s.

Gallery VI

The late contemporaries and artistic successors of Luna and Hidalgo

who were active in the late Spanish colonial period and into the

American occupation, including Fabian de la Rosa, Jorge Pineda, Irineo

Miranda, Fernando Amorsolo, and numerous other masters who shaped

Philippine art before and contemporaneous to the advent of Modernism

in the country.


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Gallery VIs paintings and sketches:

The center of attraction of the gallery is the

unfinished painting of Fernando Amorsolo

Gallery IX

The works of the great modernists of

Philippine Art, featuring important works

by Victorio Edades, Diosdado Lorenzo,

Vicente Manansala, Carlos V. Francisco,

Hernando R. Ocampo, Cesar Legaspi, Manuel

Rodriguez, Ang Kiukok, Jos Joya,

Fernando Zobel, Mauro Malang and many

others.

Gallery X (Museum Foundation of the Philippines Hall)

A gallery dedicated to The Progress

of Medicine in the Philippines, a set of

four paintings by Carlos V. Francisco

specially commissioned for the entrance

hall of the Philippine General Hospitalin1953. Declared a National Cultural

Treasure, these extraordinary works were

placed on indefinite loan to the National

Museum by the University of the

Philippines to secure their preservation

for future generations.


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ANTHROPOLOGY

The Anthropology Division is primarily concerned with the field

study and documentation of the different ethno-linguistic groups in

the country. A national reference collection of ethnographic materials

is curated, and a number of exhibitions are maintained coveringvarious aspects of ethnic culture. Cultural conservation is one of the

more recent concerns with activities geared toward the preservation of

still extant aspects of traditional culture: e.g. vernacular

architecture, boat architecture, etc. Information is provided to other

agencies of government with regard to policy decisions regarding

peoples of the Philippines. Marginally assistance is provided to

members of the ethnic communities in ameliorating their conditions by

working with other government institutions. It is directly concerned

with the control of entry to the Tau't Batu area of southern Palawan.

The collection inventory includes some 10,000 items, broken down into

different ethnic groups.

Function

Conducts scientific researches on the people of the Philippines,

including economic and ecological anthropology, ethnography/ethnology,

linguistics, and paleoanthropology that support the research,

development and conservation in physical and natural sciences.

Collections/Galleries

Gallery of different ethnics mode of dressing

(from left to right) Igorot artifacts, Traditional clothing jewelries and

swords of Maranao people, Musical Instruments of Maranao people, garments

and items of Badjaos all displayed in Museum of the Filipino People


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BOTANY AND ZOOLOGY

The Botany Division is tasked primarily to make a systematic

inventory of Philippine flora and vegetation. It maintains the

national herbarium which is the reference collection of the different

kinds of plants found in this country. At present the collectioncontains approximately 170,000 specimens.

The Zoology Division conducts scientific researches on Philippine

fauna; collects, preserves, identifies and exhibits to the public

systematically all types of animals found in the Philippines; prepares

manuscripts and scientific papers for publication. It maintains the

national reference collection of Philippine fauna.

Function of Botany Division

The Botany Division conducts basic research on taxonomy, systematics,

conservation and economic use of Philippine plants; Collects,

preserves and maintains botanical reference collection; extends

technical assistance and disseminates scientific information to

students, teachers, researchers, and scientists.

Function of Zoology Division

Conducts basic taxonomic research in zoology and its sub

disciplines and disseminate scientific information; maintain reference

collection.

Collections/Galleries

Gallery of drawings of Philippine flaura by Juan

De Cuellar, second floor of Old Legislative

Building


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OTHER GALLERIES/EXIHIBITS

WRECK OF SAN DIEGO (MUSEUM OF THE FILIPINO PEOPLE)

Gallery of bones and

taxidermy of different

Philippine fauna. The

center piece is the

big skeleton of a

sperm whaleGallery of preserved

body of different

Philippine fauna

displayed at Museum of

the Filipino People

Replica of the sunken 16th

century galleon, San Diego. The

galleon San Diego was built as

the trading ship San Antonio

before hastily being converted

into a warship. On December 14,

1600, the fully laden San Diego

was engaged by the Dutch warship

Mauritius under the command of

Admiral Olivier van Noort a

short distance away from Fortune

Island, Nasugbu, Philippines.

Remains of the sunken

galleon including

jars, cannons, armory

and silver coins.

national museum by jp espena

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