National Museum, Papemelroti to expand Juan Luna piece merchandise

Following the successful launch of its limited-edition Beep card, the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) has partnered with local lifestyle brand Papemelroti to release a new line of merchandise featuring Juan Luna’s iconic painting, Una Bulaqueña. 

These new products are now available at the National Museum of Fine Arts Shop.

The expanded collection includes fans, deco posters, colored pads, fridge magnets, and undated pocket calendars, with prices ranging from ₱140 to ₱1,200. 

This marks the second collaboration between the National Museum, the NM Employees’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative, and Papemelroti. 

Their first partnership resulted in merchandise featuring the Philippine eagle Geothermica, which was exclusively sold at the National Museum’s shop in Davao. 

Papemelroti, a well-known specialty shop for gifts and decorative accessories, began as Korben Gifts in October 1967, founded by Benny and Corit Alejandro.

The new merchandise follows the recent unveiling of the premium ‘Una Bulaqueña’ Beep card, which became available on August 25, at the National Museum of Fine Arts Shop. 

Launched in celebration of National Heroes Day, the ₱480 Beep card serves as both a practical transit pass for various train and bus lines and a unique collectible.

The NMP has hinted that this release was also a symbolic gesture to “bring the work back home in spirit” while the original painting is on loan abroad. 

Meanwhile, further designs for a “Limited Collector’s Edition” are anticipated in October, coinciding with the painting’s 130th anniversary.

Juan Luna’s Una Bulaqueña, painted in 1895, depicts a young woman from Bulacan elegantly adorned in the traje de mestiza, an aristocratic form of the baro’t saya of the Filipinas of the time.

The artwork is recognised for Luna’s skill in blending European artistic traditions with the distinct dynamism of Filipino identity, reflecting the “grace and strength of a Filipina”. 

Currently, Una Bulaqueña is on loan to the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, where it has been on display since June 2025 and will remain until June 2026.