Ilonggo artist and antique collector Jeanroll Ejar once again donated significant artifacts to the University of the Philippines Visayas Museum of Art and Cultural Heritage (UPV MACH).
The latest donation consists of more than 120 pieces of ceramic trade ware from China’s Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, Annamese ceramics from Vietnam, and Sukhothai or Sangkhalok wares from Thailand. The collection provides valuable material evidence of regional cultural exchanges and the extent of maritime trade networks across Southeast Asia.
Ejar has previously made significant contributions to the UPV MACH collection. Among these are more than 50 pieces of Metal Age terracotta pottery from Isla de Gigantes and Bacong in Negros Island, as well as pre-World War II bricks produced in Iloilo.
In addition to the ceramics, Ejar also donated a copy of José Rizal’s El Filibusterismo, translated into Hiligaynon/Binisaya by Ulpiano Vergara and Rosendo Mejica and published by Mejica’s Makinaugalingon Press.
Now among the UPV MACH’s biggest artifact donors, Ejar signed the Deed of Donation and formally turned over his latest contributions to Prof. Martin Genodepa, Director of the Office of Initiatives in Culture and the Arts (OICA).
The growing number of donors to the UPV MACH reflects the trust and confidence that collectors and artists place in the University museum. This support comes as the museum continues to attract visitors, welcoming 6,913 guests as of the end of August this year. In 2025, nearly 10,000 students and tourists visited the museum’s eight galleries.
Select pieces from Ejar’s donations, including the trade ware ceramics, are now on display at the Duna Intangible Cultural Heritage Gallery. Meanwhile, the Hiligaynon/Binisaya edition of El Filibusterismo is featured in Lapnag: Cultivating Knowledge Through Print, an exhibition on printing currently at the Lantip Changing Exhibition Gallery 1 of the UPV MACH.
Written by OICA
#UniversityofthePhilippinesVisayas
