Jewellery

 

1954: Export Development

Deciding what to wear or about to buy?

1992: Greetings stamps - Memories

Pearls

2010: Rings

Rings

1976: Archaeological Discoveries - Celtic Neck Torc 200-50B

A striking silver-iron torc although as this one weighs 6.7 kilo one would have to have a strong neck but as the article 'How do you put on a torc' explains, not designed to be worn

1982: Leipzig Autumn Fair

and it would never fit into this amber jewellery box.

Sunday Stamps theme - Jewellery - all the bling is at See It On A Postcard

Needlework

See It On A Postcard's Thursday Postcard Hunt is looking for creativity  in crafts, fabric art and textiles

Man's informal cap (Satin with embroidered pattern and silk tassels)

There was once an advertising slogan from the days when people always wore hats that said "If you want to get ahead get a hat" and this one worn today would certainly get you noticed. A postcard from an exhibition of 'Imperial Chinese Robes from the Imperial City' with objects loaned from the Palace Museum in Beijing.

Detail of costume for the Prince in L'Oiseau d'or worn by Nijinsky

Of course ballet is all about the bling and here the tunic worn by Nijinsky in 1910 when The Firebird was first performed in Paris (June 1910). Designed by Leon Bakst it is a short sleeved tunic of old gold silk, embroidered with ovals and silk circles, with jersey inner sleeves set with metal studs and a cream panel embroidered with flowers and rose ending in a drop pearl. Created in St Petersberg. When Baskst settled in Paris in 1910 he found his preferred costume maker Mme Muelle with whom he worked with on his productions for Diaghilev and Ida Rubinstein until his death in 1924. Bakst created vibrant stage sets so he would appreciate

Detail 'Trojan War' tapestry, Turnai, 1475-90 Wool and silk woven tapestry

one of the most spectacular examples of those Medieval tapestries which survive, The War of Troy was created in Tornai, a place that has experienced many wars and has been part of  France, Southern Netherlands and recently Belgium.  A huge tapestry, the postcard shows a detail of Queen Penthesilea and King Priam.

Shepherd and Shepherdess (1741) Lady Lever Art Gallery - Embroidered in silks and seed pearls

On a more domestic scale, and unlike the unknown makers of the Trojan war tapestry the card says this was "worked by Eliz. Tole" I'm guessing she wisely embroidered her name somewhere.

Art and Crafts

 

1966: Cuban Handicrafts

Afro-Cuban doll and it looks like the doll is a drummer.  The four main African groups uprooted to Cuba were the Yoruba, Bantu, Calabar and the Dahomey. The most numerous were the Yoruba and Bantu and they had the most influence on Cuban folklore and music. Perhaps this doll is of Bantu origin for that is where the Bongo drums originate.  The other stamp features a colourful sombrero to protect from the heat while working under the sun. They are made from yarey, a palm endemic to Cuba.

1961: Professions

I imagine the Dahomey took their pot making skills to Cuba but here they are on home ground.

1972: Plains Indians

'Fancy Dancer', a work by Gerald Tailfeathers of Alberta and the Blackfoot Nation showing the ceremonial costume a man might wear during the sun dance, a grueling physical and spiritual test for the benefit of a dancer's family and tribe

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - Indigenous art, crafts and clothing - See It On A Postcard

Crafts

 

2017: Trades and Crafts

As someone who likes pottering around old churches this Maxi Card featuring a stone mason may be the reason for my impulse purchase of the set. Sometimes one may see them at work...

like this one at the back of York Minster. He had just started on the block of limestone but

was ready for a break and a chat

and as they say on TV shows, here is one made earlier.

Someone working with much softer material, I like the crunching sound the scissors make.

and lastly one I have never seen at work, but now I would like to - a goldsmith.

Sunday Stamps theme this week is - People At Work - See It On A Postcard

Winter Warmers

2011: Patterned (Design - Else Friis; Engraver - Martin Mörck)

Some snazzy socks or as the artist says 'a parade of socks'.  The day here is wild and windy with a high tide running so maybe time to put on some cosy socks but not cold enough

 

 

Patterned (Design - Else Friis; Engravers - Martin Mörck and Lars Sjööblom)

for any of these items as. it is still quite warm for the time of year.  The stamps depict both traditional and modern knitting.  The stars in the background of the socks design are a modern pattern but the other stamp backgrounds are traditional designs.  Some patterns can be traced back hundreds of years to specific parts of Sweden.  The illustrator, Else Friis, says she is a knitter so she must have enjoyed this project.  Originally she was a costume designer, training at the Croydon College of Art and Design in London and attaining her degree in 1981.  In the 1980s she was involved in the scenography of different Swedish TV programs as a set designer and then worked as a graphic designer with Swedish Post for a decade.  Today she is a freelance designer.  She says "The motifs are designed as tiny stages where a small piece of history is explained in every picture."

 

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - 'Your Choice' - choose See It On A Postcard

Arts and Crafts

1968: German Crafts and Trades (Design - Karl Oskar Blase)

Remnants of the Medieval craft guild banners still live on in German towns as wrought iron signs hanging on shops, mainly in the historic centres of towns. Sometimes the symbols have altered over time such as the tailor's scissors changing to a sewing machine.  On this stamp it is definitely still a pair of scissors.  I wonder what the sign for Embroidery is?

1976: Embroidery

Where art meets craft. Korea has a long history of embroidery, traditionally made with silk thread and cloth.  I don't know where these beautiful designs are from or where they hang.  This is 'Azure Winged Magpies'

Roe Deer; Black naped oriel and magnolias

These were issued as single stamps and as a stamp sheet

This is described as 'fairy with a flute' which will be the nearest English translation but these also appear in Chinese art and are more like heavenly beings or immortals.

The tiger stamp was also issued as a miniature sheet surrounded by bamboo.

Church Kneeler, Polstead, Suffolk

Sunday Stamps II theme this week is - Arts and Crafts - See It On A Postcard



 

Letters from Liechtenstein

2017: 200 Years k.k. Briefsammelstelle, Balzers (Design - Christine Bohmwalder)

A mail coach in 1895 poses for a photograph outside the Balzers post office and collection station in Liechtenstein. The stagecoach on the stamp

is rather more flashy.  A miniature sheet of three stamps was issued to celebrate the opening of Balzers mail collection station in September 1817 which at the time was part of the Austrian postal administration. The early stamps of the country (first issued in 1912) bear the words 'Imperial and Royal Austrian Post in the Principality of Liechtenstein' until 1921 with the signing of the treaty of post, telephone and telegraph with Switzerland they became part of the Swiss postal system but with their own distinct stamps. A close postal relationship with Switzerland has existed ever since.

2017: SEPAC - Trades and Crafts (Design - René Wolfinger)

From letters to lettering which perhaps this stonemason is chiselling.

The set of stamps issued for three trades all include a hand and graphic symbols of tools of the trade seen here, a hammer, pointed chisels and drove chisel.

1982: Liba 82 Stamp Exhibition

One might have picked up some nice stamped letters at the Liba 82 Stamp Exhibition (a national stamp exhibition first held in 1934 and since 1962 LIBA happens every 10 years). The view on the card is of the castle above Liechtenstein's capital Vaduz, home to

Prince Hans-Adam II and Princess Marie of Liechtenstein who celebrated their golden wedding last year.  Prince Hans-Adam is the richest monarch in Europe and appears on the world's 500 richest people list , it helps if you own your own bank.

Sunday Stamps II prompt this week is the letter L - for Letters, LIBA and Liechtenstein - See It On A Postcard. 

Danish Dining

2016: Nordic Food Culture (Designer - Jakob Monefeldt)

The Nordic countries stamp theme in 2016 was food culture and  Denmark chose two of their fish specialties.  I wonder if these open faced sandwiches are the sort of things to be eaten near a fish quay?

The stamp on the left shows Sol over Gudhjem (sunshine over Gudhjem) consisting of smoked herring, a raw egg yoke, chives and rye bread.   The dish originated on the Island of Bornholm (known as the Sunshine Island) and the newspaper shown in the background includes a description of this lunch dish in Danish and in the island's local dialect.  A plaice appears on the stamp on the right - the dish Stjerneskud translates as  shooting star.  Some of the ingredients are drawn on the stamp but the menu lists them all. I wonder if it is like pizza options when one can pick and choose 

1992: The National Museum (Design - Carl Van Petersen; Engraver - Arne Kühlmann)

Lets imagine this bowl contains the vegetarian option of our dinner.  The PHQ card shows an earthenware bowl dated about 3200 BC from Skarpsalling (Jutland).  The ornate Skarpsalling bowl which I imagine is a national treasure also features on the Danish 50 krone note.

The prepaid card has a rather nice spiral cancel echoing the ancient decorative nature of the bowl. 

1980: Old Applied 19th Century Art (Design - Achton Friis; Engraver - Arne Kühlmann)

Ready for something to drink?  How about some foaming beer from a silver tankard or possibly the Bishop's bowl might be more interesting because it is a faience punch bowl shaped in the form of a mitre. The alcoholic drink served from the bowl was know as 'bishop' after the purple of bishops robes.   The mix was red wine, orange and sugar. Rum was sometimes added for taste and a preserver.  My observation of alcoholic punch is that 1) can be quite lethal and 2) no need of a preserver as there is never any left

Afternoon Picnic by the Danish artist Harald Slott Møller

The Sunday Stamps II prompt this week is the Letter D - for Denmark, dining and dish - dash over to - See It On A Postcard
   

Peacock

The octagonal Wedding Hall (Kalyana Mantapa) of the Mysore Palace in South India has a stained glass ceiling of geometric patterns featuring peacocks and floral mandala.  The floor has four large tiled panels also showing peacocks (a symbol of fidelity) of which the postcard shows a detail.  The Wedding Hall and its complex patterns took 2 years to complete involving the Maharaja, the architect, the executive engineer and the tile manufacturers chief designer, all that and then the numerous craftsmen needed to create and install.   The Mysore Palace was built from 1897-1912 after fire had destroyed the original.

A reproduction of one of the peacock panels also graces the entrance hall of the Jackfield Tile Museum because this was once the tile factory of Maw & Co who manufactured these particular ceramic encaustic or inlaid tiles and exported all over the world. 

I went looking for a photograph of the Wedding Hall but discovered that all picture taking is forbidden inside the Mysore Palace however it didn't stop this couple sneaking in the palace to create a video for their upcoming wedding, they got into a whole lot of trouble but I think it was worth it. See here

Postcards for the Weekend theme - Patterns and Prints - the Linky Party is at Connections to the World