When she was a young girl growing up in Europe, her father took her to museums and her mother took her to shops.
The result is that Camille Lhuillier, daughter of Philippine Ambassador to Spain Philippe Lhuillier and his beautiful wife Edna, grew up not just with the finest taste in clothes, but also in art.
She grew up in Rome when her father was envoy to Italy, and stayed on to study after his posting. She went to a liberal arts high school where students were urged to see for themselves the art that they studied.
Camille remembers that aside from taking her to museums, her father also took her to Rome’s flea markets, where, believe it or not, his keen eye for the priceless landed him many a masterpiece.
“My father would take me every Sunday to the flea market. That was kinda our bonding experience,” recalls Camille. With her exposure to European art, Camille established five years ago the Casa de Memoria, an auction house for European antiquities, art and objets d’art.
With the success of the Casa, Camille and her sister Angelique decided they needed a bigger showcase. So they thought of the seven-story mansion on Roxas Boulevard their father bought from the Villaroman family, who acquired the mansion after World War II. The Lhuilliers christened the multi-story mansion (which came with its own elevator), “Palacio de Memoria.” Camille is Palacio de Memoria’s general manager.
The Spanish colonial mansion is a different story altogether, a work of art in itself, with floors of Italian marble designed by National Artist architect Juan Nakpil depicting Filipiniana — a couple dancing the tinikling, for one.
Camille recalls that her father’s team spent quite a handsome sum to restore the home to its former glory. Walls were stripped of their veneer and repainted from pistachio green to cream and the intricately carved ceiling was freed of wooden boards covering it.
The minute one drives up its driveway of Palacio de Memoria, one is transported to a different time and place — one imagines how the genteel set lived before the war in coconut-tree shaded plantations with a magnificent view of Manila Bay (still visible from the higher floors of the Palacio).
“Back then, we were known as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’,” Camille points out.
Ambassador Lhuillier lent many of his paintings, chandeliers and furniture to the mansion, but refuses to sell any of them for sentimental reasons. “He says, ‘Oh, I had a hard time negotiating for this piece; it took me so long to find this, etc.’,” laughs Camille.
Opening the Palacio to the public and holding auctions here, says Camille, is like giving Filipinos a peek into the pages of the past through its most beautiful art pieces. “So it’s exciting to bring that knowledge to fresh eyes and new ears.”
“People say ‘Oh I feel like I’m in Europe,’ whenever they walk into this place,” says Camille.
We have faith the coronavirus crisis, too, shall pass, just like the war the mansion was mute witness to. Life will go on, and art appreciation will continue to feed our soul and enrich our minds.
Primero
Palacio de Memoria’s auction house, Casa de Memoria, or simply the Casa, will be holding Primero, an auction at 2 p.m. on March 21 at Palacio de Memoria, 95 Roxas Boulevard, Parañaque City. It will be possible to bid online or by phone so interested parties can avoid crowds.
The auction will feature a curated selection of valuable artifacts including a rare map used by the Philippines to support its sovereignty claim over the West Philippine Seas.
“This auction will cater to the growing interest of Filipinos for European fine art and collectibles. We have special, rare items that will be a great addition to anyone’s trove of valuable antiquities,” Camille adds.
She shares that some of the items are mostly part of the inheritance of some heirs of prominent families, who find themselves downsizing or with different tastes from their parents’ or grandparents’.
One of the most anticipated and coveted antiquities will be the Islas Filipinas by mapmaker Francisco Coello (1822-1898) and Antonio Morata (1806-1870). Printed and hand-colored in Madrid in 1852, the historic map is part of a compendium of cartography Posesiones de Oceania of the Diccionario Geografico-Estadistico-Historico that established Spain in Oceania.
The auction also features other artistic and religious artifacts from all over Europe, dating back to the 17th century. Reflecting the continent’s rich history and ingenious artistic styles is a collection of decorative art, ivory, silver, crystals, and memorabilia.
(For more information, visit www.casadememoria.com/guidelines, e-mail hello@casadememoria.com or call 8253-3994. You may also follow @thecasadememoria on Facebook and @casadememoria on Instagram.)