Numero I - Woman Clothed with The Sun

2006 Official Portrait of the Santo Rosario
wearing Her signature Numero Uno

NB : Article from conversations of La Naval traditions experts Flickr members.

The Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario is the finest example of a traditional Filipino Marian iconography. The celebrated Virgen is famous not only for her jewels but for her vestments as well.

La Gran Señora's sayas and mantos may not be able to compete in terms of quantity, as can be seen in the collection of quite a few famous Vírgenes in the Philippines, nonetheless, her few gala ensembles are the best example of religious embroidery at its finest in their respective eras.

The Santo Rosario's gold-studded Manto de la Coronación is perhaps the most precious of its kind in existence of Philippine religious embroidery. It sheer size and the amount of gold that went into the making of this priceless treasure remains unmatched from the time it was made to our present day.

Indeed the Santo Rosario must have been utterly breathtaking to behold in her intricate gold and silver plancha with her gold-studded manto otherwise known as Numero Uno (I).

The last time the Santo Rosario wore here signature manto was in 2006 for Her official photographs for the Centennial of her Canonical Coronation.

According to those who have examined the Numero I, the base cloth used for this precious masterpiece, was tisú de oro, this was later on covered with entirely with laidwork or "binanig" [in local parlance] in expensive gold thread is a time-consuming process.

It was only after this, was the actual embroidery laid out, with the flowers and leaves raised so high that they no longer look like just embroidery but almost like they were sculpted.

The rose and the leaves look so real even after the passing of the centuries and the antique patina it now shows..

Detail from the Manto de La Coronacion - Santo Rosario's Numero I

According to the practitioners of this type of embroidery, the flat thread is the most expensive of all the hilos de oro and is said to be the most difficult to work on..

Embroidery detail from the Santo Rosario's Numero I

Some even speculate that certain tools or contraptions were used to be able to achieve the high relief and tight embroidery that was employed in the Santo Rosario's Numero I.

The Numero I was made to match the metal plancha de oro y plata and at its original state shimmered like the sun making the Santo Rosario an exact vision of Mary clothed with sun...

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Credits : Article from conversations of La Naval traditions experts Flickr members. Photos from Mr. Aldwin Ong, MD. Please ask permission of original owner if you wish to publish in print or visual media. Please Respect Intellectual Property Rights.