X. The Antique Police: You don’t have to be a diplomat to own an Ambassador Set. (Part One)

After seven old-house visits in six weeks, I think it’s a good time as any to take a break and talk about something else – and perhaps reflect on something that we might have seen or picked up on one of our visits. 

Let’s start with this one: Readers with photographic memories will recall seeing these pieces of furniture when we visited the Cirilo Santos House in San Miguel, Bulacan:

This living room suite of furniture is, believe it or not, referred to as an “ambassador sala set.” This type of low-slung, lounge-style, informal seating became all the rage in the 1930’s, in marked contrast to the full-height straight-back formal armchairs and settees of the 1920’s and earlier. As an innovation of the 1930’s, it mimics features of the contemporary Art Deco style, including geometric shapes, sharp angles, simple lines, streamlined curves, and a relative absence of ornamentation compared to older Art Nouveau and Spanish colonial furniture. An Art Deco structure like the 1931 Cirilo Santos house would be naturally expected to use this type of furniture in its living room.

It’s not really certain why these are referred to as “ambassador” living room sets – perhaps some innovative and trend-setting consul ordered a custom-made suite soon after being posted to Manila? Living room furniture of the same era in other countries, while possessing similar, though not identical, features, does not really go by any specific name, apart perhaps from the ubiquitous “Art Deco.”

However, I came across a possible origin of this name in a 1939 catalogue from the “Quality Jewelry & Furniture Store” of 870-72 Rizal Avenue in Manila (which presumably went defunct during World War II). Amongst pages and pages of photographs and illustrations of the newest furniture designs (in addition to other merchandise such as fountain pens, watches, and eyeglasses) is a one-page feature, inviting the reader to

“Greet your visitors with your Ambassador Set, and let them feel the glow of that southern [sic] hospitality that is in you. AMBASSADOR brings refinement to your taste in furniture, and will change the dull atmosphere in your home. Streamline [sic] in construction, dignified in appearance and finished in incomparable beauty. Ambassador is the set for you. Make your Home Cheerful and filled with sunshine throughout. Get Ambassador and make your home ideal and the Envy of Admiration.” 

A photograph of the “Ambassador Narra Set,” (“guaranteed all pure narra”) showing the “composure” of four armchairs, one sofa, and “conventional” table, is included. Although the image is dark and blurry, one can tell that this is furniture of the type that we’re now talking about.

The existence of this pre-war catalogue is important evidence, because not only does it show that ambassador sets date to at least the 1930's (contrary to what most antique dealers and even some collectors say, that they are no older than the 1950's), but also because it demonstrates that our weird style of pompous Filipino English hasn't really changed much in three-quarters of a century. It's therefore comforting to learn that, even that long ago, we were already the envy of admiration, and the glow of our southern hospitality was widely felt.

In reality, there wasn’t a “standard” ambassador sala set design. Not only could it be had with more than four armchairs (in the Cirilo Santos house, you’ll see five in the photo and there’s another one elsewhere, for a total of six), but you could also, according to your taste, select from a wide variety of styles and designs from a number of different furniture manufacturers and retailers in Manila and via their provincial agents throughout the Philippine Islands. For example, you could choose something relatively simple and squared-off, like this set:

Or this set:

Or this:

One could also specify round backs:

Or arched backs like in this one:

Or this one:

Or this:

And what about fitting them with rocking-chair legs:

Or leatherette upholstery (now thankfully missing from most of the pieces here – a perfect opportunity to just replace them with rattan caning):

I personally like the angular design of this next one, since it is so unusual. Notice the side tables integrated into the arms of the sofa, and the octagonal center table:

Here’s another example of an ambassador sofa with integral side tables:

And while nearly all ambassador sets were in good old Philippine narra, one could go a bit radical and posh and specify them in kamagong (Philippine ebony):

Even in those early years of the 1930’s, elaborations on the simpler ambassador set designs already appeared, now all deemed collectible for their relative rarity:

And while we’re at it, why not specify Art Nouveau-style ornamentation:

Truer to the “modernistic” spirit of the Art Deco 1930’s is this unusual example:

  

So far, we've only looked at ambassador living room sets of the 1930's (or those that, based on stylistic evidence, are conjectured to be from that period). Like the rest of the Philippines, ambassador sets miraculously survived World War II, as we will see next.

(Continued in next article.)

Originally published on 20 September 2006.  All text and photos copyright ©2006 by Leo D. Cloma. The moral right of Leo D. Cloma to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted.

Original comments:

4 Comments

mike10017 wrote on Sep 22, '06 I think the last set is the best. Very 40's. The C-scrolls are a bit nouveau-ish but I like the overall sleek clean lines. Next best would be the angular one.

arcastro57 wrote on Sep 22, '06 I have an incomplete set, just 2 round backed single chairs and a side table, boo-hoo. Plus 2 to 3 mismatched center tables. The chairs look like the one featured here, but with added circular trims on the side. I love these period pieces, but lately, I've been on a tropical rattan furniture-frame-of-mind.

andrewjayden wrote on Aug 10 The images and information of antique furniture you have provided here is just stunning.I am a researching on antique items and this information will be beneficial to me. Antique Furniture

rally65 wrote on Aug 10 Thanks for the visit and the appreciation. You can check out all my other albums of antique furniture here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28098727@N00/collections/72157625064987398/