Louisiana Purchase Exposition Souvenir Textile, after 1904
Text
This work, possibly a pillow cover, may have been a souvenir from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. Its images depict the Bontoc Igorot people from the Philippines. The U.S. military colonized the Philippines in 1898, and in 1904 a group of Igorot was transported to St. Louis for an exhibition at the fair. Showcased as a constructed village, the group was made to enact their “exoticness” in ceremonial dances and other cultural practices for the consumptive gaze of onlookers. In the centermost panel, U.S. flags fly above the site. Several Igorot personalities became well known, including Chief Antonio (middle left panel) and Antero Cabrera (known as Balonglong to his people), an orphan who acted as the group’s interpreter. Cabrera and many others went back to Bontoc after being shown at Coney Island and other expositions. In 2000, Cabrera’s granddaughter, Mia Antero Apolinar Abeya, returned to St. Louis to speak at Wydown Middle School, which now sits where the St. Louis World’s Fair was once held. Her message commemorates her grandfather and the people whose culture was exploited.
Annotation:Caption from the Exhibit Former Glory July 27, 2018 - January 20, 2019 at RISD
by: Noel Jordan Racca
Share this
Media
Images
Map RISD Museum of Art
Metadata
Subject
Date
Contributor
Rights
To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to [email protected] and include your name and the object's accession number.
The Copyrighted Image was requested and provided through image transfer email. Courtesy of RISD Museum, Providence RI. Email receipt, date: 03.01.2022
Type
Identifier
Origin
Connection to Philippines
Materials
TECHNIQUES: Cotton, printing, printed (Printmaking)
Physical Dimensions
Provenance
Acquisition Date
Display status
Exhibited : Former Glory July 27, 2018 - January 20, 2019 Currently still viewable online at https://risdmuseum.org/exhibitions-events/exhibitions/former-glory#content__section--introduction--969481
References
Prentice, Claire. The Igorrote Tribe Traveled the World for Show And Made These Two Men Rich. Smithsonian Magazine : 14 October 2014. Accessed 28 February 2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/igorrote-tribe-traveled-world-these-men-took-all-money-180953012/
Qui, Linda .Tribal Headhunters on Coney Island? Author Revisits Disturbing American Tale. National Geographic : 29 October 2014, Accessed 28 February 2022 www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/141027-human-zoo-book-philippines-headhunters-coney-island
Acknowledgements
Photo Courtesy of Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence RI
Official Website
Collection
Source
Cite this Page
Geolocation
Related Items
Sensitive Content
Mapping Philippine Material Culture collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards Filipino and Filipino diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Mapping Philippine Material Culture’s views. Mapping Philippine Material Culture maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities.