The Boxer Codex, dated 1595, is a book depicting early Filipinos in the 16th century, as they came in contact with the Spaniards. Notice the gold ornaments that Filipinos wore then (the illustration above pertains to the Tagalog Maginoo class.) Even Pigafetta and de Legazpi would write that gold was common place in the Philippines during this time. The codex was said to have been made for the son of Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, Luis Perez Dasmarinas. Almost three centuries later, it fell into the hands of Prof. Charles Boxer of the Indiana University, to whom the manuscript was eventually named. Many have said that it was with exaggeration that these illustrations were made, not until the discovery of the Surigao Treasure in 1981, which proves that indeed we had gold before the arrival of the conquistadors. Some of the pieces can be found in the Ayala Museum, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
Bling. Had it before it became popular.
