Kulaman Burial Jars in San Francisco Museum

I have long known that two of Kulaman burial jars are in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, in California. But I could not devote a single post on them due to lack of images and adequate information. Now, though, I can. I've gathered enough materials to fill a post.

I have two closely taken images of the jars, thanks to a certain BrokenSphere who uploaded his photos in Wikimedia Commons. I'm freely using his photos here because he allows blogs, among other free-license publications, to use the materials without any fee or prior permission.

The jars in the Asian Art Museum was "originally procured" by the Richard Gervais Collection. Gervais, an American, traveled in Mindanao in the 1960s. There he discovered that "there were objects in Asia that could fetch a good price in the U.S." After buying some limestone burial jars from Kulaman Plateau, "he began a business that would become his life's passion for the next half century." Today, his collection of artifacts, religious art, and what-not is displayed in two locations and stored in a 15,000-square-foot warehouse. They came from the different parts of the world, primarily Southeast Asia.

It seems that Gervais did not directly sell or donate the two burial jars to Asian Art Museum. One travel site states that the jars are gifts from a certain Marion Greene. I've been trying to search who this philanthropist is, but Google has not given me any relevant results. The travel site also has a good description of the jars' design: "Burial urns generally come in two shapes: circular and square in section. Typically, they are adorned with simple motifs such as zigzag, diamond, and other geometric patterns. A common decoration on the lid is a three-dimensional human head and arms." I think that's a more accurate description compared to mine in my write-ups.

The size of the first jar above is 34 cm x 70 cm x 32 cm. The other's is 71 cm x 33 cm x 33 cm.

The Undiscovered Burial Jars (Part 1 of 2)

I thought all the burial jars of Kulaman Plateau had been taken away. To my surprise, when I visited a village at the plateau last summer, I found out that one cave there still contains limestone jars that are about 1,500 years old. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the jars have not been properly preserved.

No, I was not able to go inside the cave, but I was able to see a limestone jar within the premises of the village. I think you’ll understand the story better if I narrate it in chronological order.

I was with the family. We were in Barangay Kuden to see its getting-famous White Cave. In the barangay hall, while the elected chairman was proudly telling us how beautiful his village was, he suddenly said something like, “We also have burial jars here.” In an almost comical manner, our jaws dropped. My mother, my younger brother, and I stared at one another. The two both knew how interested I’d been with the artifacts; they were avid readers of this blog and they were proud of my article on the burial jars that was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“There,” Mr. Chairman added, pointing at the corner of the barangay hall. When I turned my head, I could not believe what I saw. On the floor was a tiny limestone burial jar, left standing near the wall like an everyday object. “A burial jar,” I said. “I’ve been looking for these.”

Yes, there are still burial jars left in Kulaman

Plateau. The one above is at the barangay hall

of Kuden, Senator Ninoy Aquino.

“We now keep that here inside,” Mr. Chairman said, sneering. “We used to display that outside the barangay hall, but a drunk once defecated on it and broke the cover.”

I was appalled, to say the least, but I said calmly, “Burial jars are valuable. They’re even more special than caves.” I stood up and looked at the jar closely. It was small, not higher than my knees. The edge of the cover had broken off, and the cover no longer fit snugly with the lid. When I peeped down, I saw some plastic materials inside the jar. I took off the cover. Sounding ashamed and amused, Mr. Chairman said, “Some kids here have been using it as a trash can.”

The burial jar was half-filled with wrappers of P1 junk foods. “These jars are very expensive,” I said. “Some of the jars here in Kulaman have been taken to America, and they’re now being sold in the Internet. The price of each one ranges from one hundred thousand to four hundred thousand pesos.” I was referring to the jars in the collection of the Ricky Gervais Museum, in San Francisco.

Mr. Chairman seemed surprised with the figures. “We have more jars,” he said.

(Drop by next Monday for the second part.)

A cousin of mine holds a burial jar in Barangay

Kuden. The size of the jar indicates that it must have

been used to contain the bones of a baby.