Author: National Museum of the Philippines

Following the recent turnover ceremony of limestone burial urns in Los Angeles, the National Museum of the Philippines’ engagements in California continued with another successful repatriation at the 𝐀𝐬𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐌𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐮𝐦 (𝐀𝐀𝐌) in San Francisco.

Last 13 April, the AAM, represented by its Deputy Director and Chief Experience Officer Emiko K. Usui, Chief Curator Dr. Robert Mintz, Associate Curator Dr. Natasha Reichle, and Commissioner France Viana, turned over two of its deaccessioned limestone burial urns. Representing the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco were Consul General Arnel Talisayon, Deputy Consul General Maria Paz Cortes, and Vice Consul Glaiza Quarteros.

The repatriation effort gained momentum in 2024 after the NMP was formally informed of the jars’ presence at the AAM following discussions between NMP Trustee Carlo Ebeo, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco, and KULARTS Executive Director Alleluia Panis. In October, the NMP formally requested the return of the anthropomorphic limestone jars. 

Donated to the museum in 1991, the two limestone urns were found to have been removed from the Philippines in violation of Presidential Decree No. 374, then governing the movement of cultural properties in and out of the country. The AAM staff and the San Francisco City Attorney, upon review, recommended their deaccession and return. Acting on a formal request from the Philippine government through the NMP, the Asian Art Commission unanimously approved the urns’ repatriation during its 24 September 2025 meeting, citing extensive research conducted by both museum staff and Philippine scholars. Logistical arrangements and documentation soon followed the deaccessioning of the objects, culminating in their formal turnover last April. 

The limestone burial urns remain on loan for a year to the Asian Art Museum while the NMP prepares for their eventual shipment to the Philippines. Discussions on possible exhibition or other programming are being negotiated while the objects are in the US to facilitate more engagements with the Filipino community in the area. These burial urns will be studied and validated under the care of the NMP Archaeology Division, along with the communities and other stakeholders, once they join the rest of the collections in the NMP. 

The National Museum of the Philippines is grateful to the Asian Art Museum for taking this important step to repatriate these Philippine collections and to the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, California. The return of these objects to the country will provide a wider Filipino audience with access to better appreciate our heritage. Similar burial urns may be seen in the Sally von dem Hagen Kulaman limestone jar collection, currently on view at Gallery 1 of the National Museum of Anthropology in Manila.

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The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) received eight (8) additional Kulaman limestone burial artifacts from the Filipino-American Service Group Inc. (FASGI), marking another milestone in the ongoing repatriation of the artifacts from the Sally von dem Hagen Philippine collection.

The turnover was held in April 2026 and hosted by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Cotsen Institute of Archaeology. Director-General Jeremy Barns and Dr. Marrianne Ubalde, Director of the National Museum of Anthropology, represented the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP). The event was attended by Consul Levy Manalaysay of the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles; Dean Abel Valenzuela of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology; Dr. Stephen Acabado; other representatives from the Institute and the Fowler Museum; and members of the Filipino overseas community. While arrangements for the shipment to the Philippines are being finalized, the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology will serve as the temporary custodian of the objects.

It may be recalled that in May 2024, 52 Kulaman limestone burial jars were successfully repatriated to the Philippines through a donation from Mrs. von dem Hagen’s children, with the assistance of FASGI and Dr. Stephen Acabado of UCLA. Originally acquired in the 1970s from the Dulangan Manobo in the Kulaman Plateau of Cotabato, the collection was kept by Mrs. von dem Hagen in the United States for more than four decades. While most of the collection has since been returned to the Philippines, several pieces are believed to have been sold or gifted to collectors and enthusiasts abroad.

The NMP expresses its deep appreciation to its partners and collaborators – FASGI, the Philippine Consulate in Los Angeles, and Dr. Stephen Acabado and his team at the UCLA Cotsen Institute of Archaeology – for facilitating the return of these objects to the Philippines.

Once repatriated, these objects will be reunited with the rest of the collection for public exhibition and further research by the NMP Archaeology Division, in collaboration with partner institutions and concerned communities. 

Last 31 March, the National Museum of the Philippines relaunched the exhibition 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝: 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 by artist Phyllis Zaballero at the National Museum of Fine Arts. The updated exhibition expands on the original exhibition, offering a much more in-depth view into Zaballero’s abstract practice.

In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Director-General for Museums Arvin Manuel Villalon described Zaballero as a true luminary in Philippine art, noting that the exhibition is both a continuation and renewal of her artistry. 

Meanwhile, before answering questions from viewers, Zaballero also reflected on the evolution of her processes and their translation into layered, expressive compositions.

Following the relaunch, Zaballero led a walkthrough of the exhibition, offering deeper insight into her works.

Relaunched in time for the culmination of National Women’s Month, 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 is part of the NMP’s rotating series of women-led exhibitions featured at the Special Exhibition Hall Dedicated to Women’s Art.

Landscapes of the Mind: Recalling Visions is now on view at Gallery XVII, 3/F, National Museum of Fine Arts EVERYDAY from 9 AM to 6 PM. Admission is FREE!

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