Capiz Shell Craft

The windowpane oyster - placuna placenta, called capiz after the province where it was harvested in quantity - has a shell that is flat, thin and translucent, and Filipino builders used it as window glazing for centuries: cut into squares, set in wooden grids, it admits a soft diffused light while blocking heat and glare, which is exactly what a tropical house wants. The sliding capiz windows of the bahay na bato are the result, and they are the single most recognisable element of Philippine colonial domestic architecture. The shells are cleaned, flattened, trimmed and graded by hand in workshops around Roxas City, and today go into lampshades, chandeliers, screens, trays and Christmas parol lanterns as much as into windows. Over-harvesting has depleted the beds and much raw material now comes from elsewhere, a fact the local industry acknowledges. Roxas City is also the seafood capital of the region, which is the other reason to be in Capiz.

Highlights

• The shell processing - cleaning, flattening and trimming by hand.
• The window panes - squares set into wooden grids.
• The lamps and screens - contemporary products from the same shell.
• The workshops - small operations around Roxas City.

When to go

November to May for travel. Weekday working hours; workshops are small and generally closed on Sundays.

What to expect

These are working shops, not showrooms. Capiz shell is fragile and awkward to transport - think about packing before buying. The wild beds are depleted, and sourcing is a real issue in the trade.

Nearby

Santa Monica Church at Panay and its great bell are fifteen minutes away; Roxas City's seafood market is in town.