MANILA, Philippines — A ferocious bidding war for Jose Rizal’s “Josephine Sleeping” erupted last weekend at the Leon Gallery’s Kingly Treasures Auction in Makati City.

The sculpture depicts the last lady love of the country’s “first Filipino” and foremost national hero, made by the same hands that wrote the “Noli” and “Fili.”

Ten bidders first joined the fray at the opening price of P7 million to own the piece that measured no more than 9-1/2 inches long and 2-3/4 inches wide.

Made of plaster of Paris, it was created during Rizal’s isolation and exile in distant Dapitan in Zamboanga, months before he would meet his martyrdom on Bagumbayan Field or today’s Luneta.

It portrayed a winsome Josephine Leopoldine Bracken, her curves outlined under the sheets, who would become the only Mrs. Jose Rizal.

The bidders were spread out nationwide, placing telephone and online bids.

Only one bidder was on the floor, director general Jeremy Barns of the National Museum, who quietly observed the action.

As the piece rocketed past the P10-million mark, then sped beyond P20 million, bidders would slowly drop out — until at the P26-million mark, it became a three-cornered battle.

The auction crowd remained reverential in silence.

When the smoke had cleared, one telephone bidder took the prize, hitting an eye-watering P31 million with buyer’s premium.

The room erupted in cheers.

In a first for Philippine art, the National Museum gave formal notice that it would consider exercising its “right of first refusal” for the Rizal sculpture, as well as three other historical photographs of the 19th-century artist Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, which went on the block.

One of these depicts him painting the treasure “The Assassination of Governor Bustamante,” which has pride of place at the Spoliarium Hall of the museum.

The institution has seven days to match the offer, according to law.

Jaime Ponce de Leon, director of Leon Gallery, responding to the new world record set for Rizal’s works, said, “After all, the piece is the most important of Rizal’s works and is Rizal’s Mona Lisa.”

“If Da Vinci had his Mona Lisa, then this is Rizal’s own mysterious beauty. Josephine Bracken has always been an enigma in Philippine history,” he said.

Bracken, the blue-eyed Irish girl who would steal Rizal’s heart, arrived in Dapitan sometime in early 1895 and would make the last twenty months of Rizal’s life deliriously happy.

Rizal would call her his “golondrina” after the migratory swallow, “Miss B.,” the “sweet foreigner” and on his last day on earth, “my unhappy wife.”

Rizal would marry her two hours before his execution, although no marriage certificate exists.

Rizal’s romantic piece captured the public imagination over the last few weeks, almost eclipsing the whopping P55 million reaped by Carlos “Botong” Francisco’s tapestry-sized painting titled “Tinikling No. 2” at the same Leon Gallery auction. It once belonged to the first woman cabinet secretary, Estefania Aldaba-Lim.

Leon’s auction results also captured the upbeat mood of the Philippine art scene, with several world records made: one for young contemporary artist Nicole Coson for an untitled canvas of windows, which drew over P3.4 million, as well as for National Artist Napoleon Abueva.

Abueva’s work titled “Chastity Belt” hit almost P4 million.lucky play168 or lp99

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