The NM Director receives Mr Mel Velarde.
The President and CEO of Now Corporation Mr. Mel Velarde (center) came to the National Museum and was given a tour to the Fine Arts exhibitions and renovated public spaces by Director Jeremy Barns and Assistant Director Ana Labrador. His visit was prompted by his imminent donation of the 1734 Murillo Velarde map to the country through the National Museum.
Mr. Velarde bought what is now known as “mother of all Philippine maps” at a Sotheby’s auction in November 2014 for more than Php 12M. It came from the estate of the Duke of Northumberland in the UK that put it up for auction. The 281-year-old map is being put forward by the Philippine government as evidence for its claim to islands in the West Philippine Sea that are presently being fortified by China.
This map, considered by the Biblioteca Nacional de España in Madrid as the “first and most important scientific map of the Philippines,” is expected at the National Museum in the first quarter of next year.
