Art Work, 1997 Gambia

 

This set of stamps slipped past me to a while. I didn't realize if was around for a couple of years. The set us notable for the fact that two organ related stamps are part of the sets. The stamps are reproductions of paintings by various artists. "Angel playing the organ" and "The Graham children" both include representations of organs. Six of the stamps have fairly standard formats. The Hogarth stamp is slightly larger than usual.  My caroler has misidentified the two larger stamps. One is by Lepicie the by Hogarty. Cats feature on the two single-stamp panes. 

Cameroun: Christmas 1972

 

Cameroun (Cameroon) issued this stamp as part of a set of 2 for Christmas in 1972. Both show paintings of Mary, mother of Jesus. Both are airmail stamps. The 45-franc stamp is a painting by Cimabue. This stamp shows "The Virgin of the Rose Arbor," by Stefan Lochner. There is an angel playing a small portatif organ in the LL corner. Other angels playing other instruments are seated around the blue-robed Madonna. Scott #C194 was issued December 21, 1972. My copy is unused.

Poland: Veit Stoss carvings

 

Veit Stoss was a German-born sculptor living in Krakow, Poland in a period spanning the Gothic and Northern Renaissance eras. Some of his most important work is found at St Mary's Basilica in that city. The altarpiece is the largest in the world and was created between 1477 and 1489. Poland commemorated this masterpiece with a set of six stamps (Scott #925-930) plus a miniature sheet (#931) in 1960. The six stamps show details from the altarpiece; the sheet-stamp shows the central panel. The altarpiece is about 13 meters tall and 11 wide. There are 3 panels on each side of the triptych design, and a larger central panel. Each is painted wood. On the center panel in the middle left is an angel playing a portatif organ. The angel is shown with robes of gold and green, and wings of gold. The stamp is essentially in black, but the angel and the organ are still visible. 

Paraguay: Titian

Paraguay issued a set of 8 stamps in 1976 honoring the "500th anniversary of the birth" of the artist Titian. However many set Titian's birth year later in the 15th century, 1488 or 1490. The artist's -death- is generally fixed at 1576, so this set might more accurately commemorate the 400th anniversary of the artist's death. Titian was the most important artist of the so-called Venetian school of artists during the Renaissance era. The 8 stamps (Scott 1708 a-g, and 1709) all feature nudes from various works by Titian. The high value stamp is a detail from "Venus and the Organist." At the extreme left edge one may discern organ pipes of a small portativ instrument. The lower-value 7 stamps are often collected as a connected strip; mine are singles. Titian had about him a workshop of artists all using the same visual style. Titian and his workshop painted several variations of Venus reclining with an instrumentalist visible, and sometimes other elements, notably a dog or cupid. All were from the mid-1500's. Below are two version of Venus reclining from Titian's workshop.

France: Mechanical Instrument Museum

Les Gets is a city in western France surrounded, peninsula-like, by Switzerland. There is a museum of mechanical musical instruments there.  The cachet on this cover commemorates that museum. The cachet shows a figure holding one the more important holdings at the museum, a portativ organ. There is also some scenery from the area. This is a piece of postal stationary: the postage is printed on the envelop, rather than the user having to apply postage. The image on the stamp is the "Marianne" rendering first used in 1997 (with "La Poste" in the LL corner) and redrawn in 2003 with RF in that corner. The cover is non-denominated, so it could be sold for a longer period of time despite rate changes. Scott catalogs do not list foreign postal stationary so I do not have a number for this item. Presumably the museum purchased a quantity of the envelops and had their cachet added, and then sold them in their boutique/store at the museum.

Paraguay: Christmas, 1975

The South American nation of Paraguay issued a set of 8 stamps in 1975 for Christmas, showing various paintings related to the season. The stamps are generally collected as an attached set (Scott 1547, a-h), which is what I have. However that strip is rather tall, and doesn't fit into standard binders such as those I use for my collection. Therefore mine is generally folded twice to fit into storage. Though they are on the same sheet of stamps, and strip, each of the 8 stamps is differently denominated, 5c through 50c. There is also a souvenir sheet of a single stamp (Scott 1548). The 15c stamp is a painting by Hans Memling showing the mother of Jesus surrounded by angels in white attire. One of the angels is playing a portatif organ. Memling's painting now is part of the collection at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.

 

Niue: Christmas, 1979

Niue is an island nation located somewhat near New Zealand in the South Pacific. That nation issued a set of four stamps for Christmas in 1979 featuring various paintings (Scott 258-261). They also issued a set of 4 semi-postal mini-sheets (Scott B12-B15) of a single stamp each, of the same designs as the regular postage stamps. While the regular postage stamps show a portion of the original paintings, the mini-sheets depict the entire painting. The regular postage stamps are variously denominated (20c, 25c, 30c, 50c) but the semi-postals are all denominated 85c + 5c. The low value stamp show a painting by Pere Serra, Virgin and Child ("Virgin of Tortosa"); the corresponding semi-postal shows the whole painting when the selvage is accounted. In the LL is an angel playing a portatif organ. This painting (tempura and gold leaf on wood), now in the Catalonian National Museum of Art, was presumably part of an altarpiece created for the Tortosa Cathedral in the late 14th century. In cathedral architecture at the east end of the building one often finds an apse; very often it is possible to circumnavigate the chancel area via an ambulatory, the perimeter of the apse. Too one might find attached to that ambulatory any number of chapel areas. Museum curators believe this piece was for one such chapel at Tortosa. In additional to the organ-playing angel, others play two lute-type instruments, a lyre, a harp, and a flute.

Liechtenstein: Chur Cathedral, Christmas

Liechtenstein issued this stamp in 1982 for Christmas. It is part of a set of three stamps (Scott 751-753) featuring architectural details from Chur Cathedral (Vadux, St Florin). I do not have a copy of the individual stamp, only this postcard with stamp affixed. This was a gift from my friend in Great Britain, Mark Jameson, for which I am deeply grateful. The image is an angel playing a portatif organ. I have looked at several pictures of the interior of the Vaduz St Florin Cathedral, but have not found where exactly with the facility this statue is located.  Joseph Rheinberger, organist and composer, was born here. Below is a picture of the organ in the rear gallery, for the sake of completeness. At the bottom of the image one can see statuary in a similar vein to that on the stamp.

Venezuela, Christmas angels

Venezuela issued this stamp in 1967 as part of a set for Christmas. It features a reproduction of Stephan Lochner's La Virgen del Rosal (Virgin in a rose arbor). The original painting hangs in the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, Germany. Painted in 1450, it is a small work, suited for personal or home devotional use. Angels surround the central figure, and each holding musical instruments. Almost obscured by the denomination, the angel at LL is holding a portativ. This angel and its instrument are quite clear in the image of the original painting. This stamp (Scot C976) was for airmail postage.

Aitutaki: Christmas, angels

The island nation of Aitutaki (part of the Cook Island archipelago in the South Pacific) issued a set of 8 stamps in 1994 for Christmas featuring various religious paintings. Two sets of four stamps were denominated 85c and 90c. They featured various representations of the birth of Jesus: Mary, magi, angels, etc. These stamps saw little postal use and are generally collected as attached blocks of four stamps. On the 85c block, the UR stamp (Scott 508b) shows angels on the perimeter, holding musical instruments. One of the angels is holding a portativ organ. Memling painted several versions of the nativity story on various commissions. This particular painting is known as the Donne Triptych and is at the National Gallery, London, UK. It was completed in 1478.

Poland: Folk art

I have always been a little confused by the stamps in this issue.  The Scott catalog describes the set as folk art. These two semi-postals the catalog says are (5.50z+1.50z) a choir and (7z+1.50z) an organ grinder. Hans Timmerman's site documents the first of the pair, saying it is a choir accompanied by a portativ organ. Even up close I have a hard time seeing an organ in either of them!

The set was issued in 1969. There were six stamps of regular issue (Scott 1705-1710) in addition to the two present stamps (B118-B119). The were issued in December of that year. The catalog does not give any details about the recipent of the special funds raised by the semi-postal stamps.

It does seem that the larger figure in B118 has hands hovering above a set of key. It's difficult to discern what the man in yellow pants is actually doing in B119. An organ of some type may be depict in either or both of these stamps! I include both of them mostly for a sense of completeness, since they appear on most persons' lists of pipe organ stamps.

Liechtenstein: Music Year

The year 1985 was a very important year for pipe organs on stamps. European nations for many years issued stamps on a selected theme yearly. In 1985 the chosen theme was music. This year was the 300th anniversary of the birth of both Handel and Bach. Liechtenstein issued a set of two stamps for the Music Year theme. The low value includes a portativ organ. The artist of this painting is not identified. The Scott catalog  (#804) describes it as "three muses." The organ looks like a typical single rank of pipes instrument, with fewer than 30 keys. An angel is working the bellows for the player. Other instruments are a flute and some variety of stringed instrument.

Belgium: Memling painting

Belgium issued this stamp (Scott 1560) as part of a set of two in 1994. This one features a detail from a painting by Hans Memling. The detail shows a woman holding an infant, a second woman on the left, and a musician playing a portatif in the background. It's not quite clear if the musician is indeed holding the instrument or if it rests on a table of some type. But it does meet the design features typical of portatifs: short compass, single set of pipes. The winding mechanism is not shown. I am not familiar with this painting, so I would be happy to hear information about the persons in the painting and any other details related to it. The other stamp in the small set of two features the Belgian composer Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894). He died at a tragically young age of typhoid fever. Most of his pieces were for piano and strings, along with a dozen orchestral works.

German Democratic Republic: Portativ

This semi-postal stamp was issued by DDR in 1950, two hundred years after the death of Bach. It was issued as part of a set of four stamps that together commemorate the "Bach year." The low-value stamp (B17) depicts a shepherd with double flute; second is the present stamp (B18); the third stamp (B19) depicts JS Bach; the final stamp (B20)shows a singing chorus. The girl in this stamp seems to be holding a portable organ with a scant 10-11 notes; it appears that 5 pipes are visible. The purpose of the surtax (6 pfennigs) is not designated in my edition of the Scott catalogue.

Hungary: Painting, angels playing organ and harp

Hungary issued this stamp in 1973 as part of a set of 7 stamps and 1 souvenir sheet containing a single larger-sized stamp). All of the stamps feature paintings by anonymous Hungarian painters found in the Christian Museum at Esztergom. This painting in this stamp, by an unknown painter, is of angels playing a portativ and a harp. Art critics will have more to say about the painting. One can see that the organ is placed on a table-top. It has a relatively short compass (few notes), as indicated by both the number of keys and the number of pipes. This stamp is HUngary #2254 in the Scott catalogue.

France: "Music"

France issued this stamp (Scott #1625) in 1979 as a simple homage to "Music." The stamp shows a woman playing a stringed instrument across her lamp, with a lyre at her right side and a portativ organ at her left. There are other (male) instrumentalists and singers in the background. Interestingly there are two geese also to the left and right of the woman. The miniature is from the 15th century; that's the only identification given.