Odd stamps : 02h Silver / golden stamps

Another gold foil stamp came to my attention, right at the moment that a good friend of mine was in Luxemburg.
In 1923 a statue was inaugurated, as a remembrance for the victims of the first world war, in Luxemburg, and those who volunteerd for Luxemburg in that time.
However, during the second word war, the nazis took down the momument.

It was fully restored in 1984, and is now a symbol of independence for the people of Luxemburg.
The sculptor, Nicolas (Claus) Cito, born in Luxemburg, and educated in Brussels, never saw the complete restauration, as he died in 1965.

Claus Cito, by August Macke (1906-1907)

The figure, a golden lady ("Gëlle Fra", in Luxemburgish), is inspired by Niké, the greek godess of Victory, it is a gilden bronze statue, on a 21 meter tall granite obelisk.

Gëlle Fra (Golden Lady)-monument

100 years after the first inauguration of the monument, the Luxemburg postal office, emitted a stamp to commemorate and honour the statue and the scultor.

No better way to do so, was to emit a stamp with golden overprint.
Thanks to my friend Eric, I got a postally used stamp.

postally used Gëlle Fra-stamp

But even greater was my surprise, when we met for real, and the gave me a commemorative sheet of 4, with a certificate of authenicity.

100 years of the 'Golden Lady'

this certificte states, that real gold was used

Odd stamps : 06 k Stamps on cotton / silk

For the next post on stamps on silk, we go to Portugal.

In this sheetlet, printed on cotton, Portugal is commemorating its textile industry.

full sheet  - printed on cottom

On the stamp, we see 3 parts.
First is the cotton plant (algodão in Portuguese).

stamp on cotton

Secondly we see a picture made in the late 19th -  early 20th century, where women are working in textile industry, next to the large bobbins of cotton.

ladies working in textile factory

On the right we see the goddess Minerva, goddess of Industry (commerce), weaving and crafts.
Although Minerva is more often depicted with a shield, the wheel also refers to commerce.

more to follow...

Odd stamps : 08 Stamps with special cuts - 08 c

A very nice sheet was issued only recently by the postal services of Luxemburg.

2007 - Luxemburg - The Vichten Mosaic

The Vichten mosaic depicts the ancient Greek muses. It used to adorn the reception hall of a Roman villa in Vichten but can now be seen in Luxembourg's National Museum of History and Art.

Dating from around 240 A.D., the mosaic of Vichten, which has an area of 61.3 m2 and is in an excellent state of preservation, shows in its main area the mythological and literary subject of the nine Muses, daughters of the supreme God, Zeus, and of the goddess of memory, Mnémosyne.

The Muses, defined around 700 BC by the Greek author Hésiode:

Thalie, Muse of comedy
Euterpe, Muse of music and lyric poetry

Thalia and Euterpe

Terpsichore, Muse of dance and dramatic choirs
Melpomène, Muse of tragedy

Terpischore and Melpomène

Clio, Muse of history
Uranie, Muse of astronom

Clio and Urania

Polymnie, Muse choir singing and harmony
Erato, Muse of love poetry

Polymnia and AErato

Calliope, Muse of epic elegiac poetry, in the company of the prince of poets, Homer.

central stamp

real mosaic

The eight « exterior » Muses are oriented on an axis towards the middle of the central medallion. The depiction of the clothing and other attributes of the different personalities, identified by latin inscriptions included above each medallion, is very detailed.
Two by two, they are joined on one octagonal stamp.
The central stamp is not octagonal.

back side of the Vichten sheet (Lux 2007)

This supberb mosaic used to adorn the reception hall of a Roman villa in Vichten and was rediscovered in 1995 on the site of a new agricultural operation in Vichten. Archaelogical resarch found the foundations of one of the most remarkable Roman villas ever discovered in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

detail real mosaic

After it's discovery it was carfully removed and it can now be seen in Luxembourg's National Museum of History and Art.