Anita Magsaysay-Ho’s Pounding Rice, a Rolex engraved with Ferdinand Marcos’s signature, and a first edition of Jose Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere topped Leon Gallery’s 15th anniversary Magnificent September Auction 2025, where provenance and history pushed bidding far beyond opening offers.
Magsaysay-Ho’s 1947 tempera painting reached P64.89 million after opening at P18 million, more than triple its offer and the highest price of the sale. Depicting women in a communal task, the work is one of her celebrated portrayals of Filipinas at work. The result reaffirmed her standing as a steady auction favorite among Filipino modernists.
The Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day-Date, a relic linked to the Martial Law–era “Rolex 12,” climbed from P900,000 to P10.81 million, more than twelve-fold. Collectors pursued the watch for its political symbolism of power and loyalty.
Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere, printed in Berlin in 1887 and dedicated to Trinidad H. Pardo de Tavera, finished at P22.83 million from a P10 million opening, more than double its offer. The results highlighted demand for rare artifacts tied to the country’s history.
Works by national artists also drew strong results. Jose Joya’s Blue Harbor (1966) doubled to P25.23 million from P12 million, while Cardona Trail (1965) rose more than two-fold to P13.21 million from P5 million. Vicente Manansala’s Family (1975) closed at P24.03 million, twice its opening.
Fernando Amorsolo’s Water Carrier (1938) rose more than four-fold to P12.02 million from P2.8 million. Two versions of Under the Mango Tree drew heavy bidding: the 1951 canvas sold at nearly three times its offer at P14.42 million, while the 1952 version closed at almost three times its P6 million opening, or P16.82 million. Malate Church with the Statue of Isabela II more than doubled to P5.77 million from P2.8 million.
Fernando Zobel’s Segunda Conversacion con RVR (1965) more than doubled to P18.02 million from P8 million, while an untitled 1967 abstraction nearly doubled to P5.53 million from P2.8 million. Alfonso Ossorio’s untitled abstract work on paper (1952), created in the US, rose six-fold to P6 million from P1 million, reflecting growing interest in Filipino diaspora artists.
HR Ocampo’s Mother and Child (1971) more than doubled to P9.61 million from P4 million, while Arturo Luz’s Sun and Sea (1962) climbed nearly four-fold to P7.81 million from P2 million. Jerry Elizalde Navarro’s Awesomely Beautiful (1996) crossed P7.81 million, more than doubling its P3 million opening.
Among classical works, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo’s Vistas del Rio Pasig (1897) nearly doubled to P1.08 million from P600,000, while Felix Martinez Lorenzo’s A Native House in a River Glade (1877) quintupled to P6 million from P1 million. Hidalgo’s untitled depiction of Venus and the Swan, an early favorite offered at P18 million, was withdrawn.
Demi Padua’s Woman of the Century (2023) nearly doubled to P3.12 million from P1.6 million. Juvenal Sanso doubled with Moonlit Offering (1960s) at P3.6 million and Spring Tribute (1968) at P4.09 million. Danilo Dalena’s Huling Ticket from his Jai-Alai series doubled to P3.6 million from P1.8 million, while Nena Saguil’s 1950 portrait diptych more than doubled to P2.28 million from P1 million.
Artifacts and historical objects also drew strong bidding. Rizal’s 1892 architectural sketch of an envisioned academy nearly doubled to P3.36 million from P1.8 million. A 17th- to 18th-century ivory El Nino San Juan Bautista from Binondo doubled to P4.8 million from P2.4 million. A pre-colonial Butuan dagger with a gold hilt more than tripled to P2.88 million from P800,000.
Nearly 170 lots went under the hammer. By the close, Magsaysay-Ho’s Pounding Rice led at nearly P65 million, followed by Joya’s Blue Harbor at P25 million, Manansala’s Family at P24 million, and Rizal’s Noli at P22.8 million. Marcos’s Rolex posted the steepest leap, while works by Ossorio, Lorenzo, and Amorsolo ranked among the strongest performers.
Prices include hammer and buyer’s premium as of September 13 and may be subject to further adjustments.
