Philippines National Anthropology Museum

My first time visiting a museum in the Philippines. Entrance is free, but you have to leave backpacks in the storage room and water is not allowed but it’s also free). Spread over four floors, this museum gives a very good overview of Filipino culture, customs and associated historical events. It is located at the center of Manila nearby the biggest Luneta park, Intramuros, manila bay and the many museums.

The museum of Anthropology was formerly knows as The national art gallery

established in permanent collection contains around 10,000 items, including cultural materials from the different peoples of the Philippines ranging from baskets, weapons, textiles, and wooden objects to various religious, economic and agricultural tools and implements, musical instruments and personal ornaments and adornments.

Here are just some of the most fascinating yet often overlooked treasures from our country’s flagship museum:

The Blue and White Porcelains ivory and gold rosary (The crucifix is mounted on two gold rods)

One of the most interesting highlights of the San Diego gallery is the huge collection of jars. These jars are some of the recovered artifacts from the wreck of San Diego and most of them are being used as trade items

A portion of the gallery features a huge collection of jars of different types including Spanish, Siamese, Martaban and Dragon Jars. Each varies in terms of their designs and materials used. It was really nice that they were able to restore and preserve these precious items with huge historical significance.

And the traditional textiles produced by various indigenous and cultural communities in the Philippines.

It tells the story of how these textiles were made, the materials in making the cloth, and the technologies they used. On display are different traditional textiles, looms, natural fibers, and dyes. The gallery features a death blanket called kinuttiyan used by the highest members of the Ifugao community known as the kadangyan and the Banton cloth fragments, the oldest textile collection of the NMP and a National Cultural Treasure.