The Peacock Chair: A Symbol of Filipino Heritage
April Werle sitting in the Peacock Chair in her studio
First Memory of Seeing a Peacock Chair
I remember the very first time I saw a Peacock Chair, it was the photo on the left of my Auntie Ester as a young woman with my cousin Christina standing on her lap in the Philippines.
I immediately added the Peacock Chair into my brain as part of the collection of items I associated to my Auntie Ester, who an entire 24 years older than my ma embodies a slightly different aura of what it was to be a Filipino woman.
I always think of my Auntie Ester with this long, thick black hair that she used to tie up into the same low bun every day. I think of wood carvings of diwata (spirits) that she decorated her home with, old paintings of fisherman in the tropical bay, and of her sitting in this wicker throne.
My Auntie Ester is a strong willed woman, and with one of my earliest memories in childhood–seeing this photo–I immediately associated the peacock chair to a strong Filipino woman.
The Origin of the Peacock Chair
You’ve probably seen the Peacock Chair in old images of Hollywood, the Black Panther Party, or even under the prestige derriere of Morticia in Addams Family. These images have made the Peacock Chair famous worldwide. But many people don’t know the origin story of the Peacock Chair.
The black and white photo above is the first known image of the Peacock Chair taken in 1914. Sitting upon it is one of the inmates of the Bilibid Prison in Manila, Philippines–where these chairs were crafted.
The Peacock Chair amongst other wicker furniture were hand-built by the Bilibid Prison inmates as an export good. Many rich foreigners would come tour the museum and purchase this furniture, hence how it became a truly global chair.
Comparing the photos above is striking. The image on the left depicts my Auntie Ester holding her baby with pure joy emanating from the both of them.
The image on the right is severely contrasting. It pictures the solemn Bilibid inmate with her baby that was born inside the prison.
Morticia Addams from 1964 TV Sitcom The Addams Family
The Peacock Chair as a Visual Metaphor
Inspired by how this chair has become quite literally everyone’s symbol, I use the Peacock Chair as a co-star in this painting pictured below “Where are you from-from?”.
I am drawn to this chair as a symbol for hyphenated people, specifically Filipinos living in the diaspora.
As a mixed-Filipino, I cannot tell you how many times I have been met with the question “but where are you really from?” or variations of it. And while searching for a symbol to help embody this experience, I kept coming back to the Peacock Chair.
Like the Peacock Chair, I have been assumed to belong to so many cultures. I’ve received everything under the sun from Mexican, to Pakistani, Egyptian, Lebanese, you name it.
Like me, this chair is assumed to belong to so many different cultures around the world. But for me, it is a symbol of Filipino heritage and the strong women that came before me.
“Where are you from-from?” by April Werle 2023
