All Eyes on These “The Well-Appointed Life” September Lots
For its 15th year, Salcedo Auctions marks its biggest sale yet–800 lots of historic masterpieces and luxurious objets d’art.
Words Randolf Maala-Resueño
Photos courtesy of Salcedo Auctions
September 23, 2025
Keeping its steadfast honor of being the barometer for the Filipino art market, the Salcedo Auctions, celebrating its 15th anniversary, brings “The Well-Appointed Life,” the auction house’s marquee, bi-annual prestige event celebrating the finest in Philippine art, timepieces, heirlooms, and much more.
“The Well-Appointed Life” embodies the work of artists, designers, and tastemakers, spotlighting pieces where legacy and national pride intertwined. Akin to its resonant theme of “The Art of Enlightenment,” here are some of the pieces to look out for the September sale.
LOT 560: Jose Rizal, Portrait of a European Gentleman
In a rare convergence of provenance and heritage, this 14 by 10 ½ inch charcoal sketch reflects Rizal’s innate academic talents in art and anatomy. The drawing was an heirloom from Rizal’s direct descendants through Antonio Bantug and Asuncion Lopez-Bantug, descendants of Leoncio Lopez-Rizal, the son of Jose’s sister, Narcisa Rizal-Lopez.
JOSE RIZAL, Portrait of a European Gentleman
LOT 561: Report Card of Jose Rizal from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila
The first known card to have survived and called for public auction, this 1876 report card depicts the national hero’s honor rolls during his six-year studies at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila, in the subject Historia Natural (Biology).
Report Card of Jose Rizal from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila
LOTS 540, 559 & 564: Fernando Amorsolo, Rice Harvest , Departure of the Fishermen and Pista sa Nayon
FERNANDO AMORSOLO, Rice Harvest
These three luminous canvases, amongst many in the Salcedo archives, depict Amorsolo’s everyday countrymen, boasting themes of heritage, patriotism, and his genius in portraying still-life art.
LOTS 552A & 552B: BenCab, Rizal’s Foreign Loves and Segunda, Rizal’s First Love
BENCAB, Rizal’s Foreign Loves
Both created during Rizal’s 100th death anniversary, these 1996 BenCab pastel-on-paper portraits commemorates the national hero’s relentless love history with depictions of his womanly interests including Josephine Bracken, Nellie Bousted, Gertrude Beckett, and O Sei San in “Rizal’s Foreign Loves” while the latter offers a standing Segunda Katigbak, Rizal’s first love.
BENCAB, Segunda, Rizal’s First Love
LOTS 653 TO 708: The Well-Appointed Life of Auggie Cordero
BENCAB, Man of Peace
After his passing in 2022, master couturier Auggie Cordero left his estate a timeless collection spanning paintings, ethnographic relics, and fine antiques–a true persona with immense appreciation in art and beauty in all its forms.
The collection includes works from BenCab, Hernando R. Ocampo, Fernando Zobel, Roberto Chabet, Ibarra Dela Rosa, and other prominent Filipino artists.
LOT 545: Annie Cabigting, An Afternoon with Rothko
Known for her “meta-paintings,” this Annie Cabigting oil on canvas highlights the innate mediation of art and the human relationship.
Noted in Salcedo Auctions’ catalogue, “It is an image that transcends portraiture, functioning as both a double homage–to Rothko and to the act of beholding–and as a meditation on how art endures.”
The painting has held provenance in internationally-renowned auction house Christie’s in Hong Kong and was a part of the Collection of Bobby Gopiao in Quezon City.
ANNIE CABIGTING, An Afternoon with Rothko
LOTS 709 TO 766: The Well-Appointed Life of Johnny Ramirez
An exhibition piece de gozne ivory ‘San Miguel Arkanghel’ figure with gold and silver accoutrements
An interior designer and architect for the elite, Jonny Ramirez’s body of work speaks through time, with an expansive collection of prehistoric potteries, antique furnitures, and ecclesiastical curios sourced from the country’s most reputable.
Art market appreciation
Salcedo Auctions Chairman and Chief Specialist Ramon “Richie” Lerma expressed, in an ART+ exclusive, the fine line of confidence and trust of art purveyors though the art market in this September sale. The marquee event upholds a sterling standards of vetting and authentication, he added, as the live and online bidding gears in this September 27.
“I think when it comes to collecting art, there's a higher value that comes at play. Whether it's an honoring of history, for example, [even] the legacy of an artist. I think that's above everything else…The ebb and flow of the art market is natural and it's to be, I think, embraced because that is what is at the heart of the true art market. And–if I may say so–it happens here at Salcedo.”
Salcedo Auction’s “The Well-Appointed Life” goes live on September 27, with morning and afternoon sales online and in-house. Preview is also open until September 26 at NEX Tower in Makati City. See the full September 2025 Catalogue here.
