Due to heavy reconstruction of this webpage, this blog is temporary suspended to renew in this summer, it will be updated again after late-autumn, thank you for your visits in these 9 years.

3 April 2010

Princely treasures of Liechtenstein

Pietra Dura (大理石鑲嵌畫)
Liechtenstein (2009)

12th January, 2010. Vaduz

Actually I didn't have plan to have this issue as the stamp not related to bird, the issue just shown the princely treasures of Liechtenstein which is a collection of Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna. Pietra Dura, originally is an Indian traditional art, using cheap precious stones inlay a marble plate for desktop or cabinet. In post-16th century, this art disseminated to Italy via Arabic countries, and became popular in Europe afterwards. This mosaic cabinet, was commissioned from Henry Somerset of Florence in 1726, decorated full of birds, flowers and butterflies.

The stamp shown the left side of the cabinet. The bird seems mostly like European Roller (藍胸佛法僧) was a common bird of European countries in the 16th to 18th century. However due to the industrialised and change of inhabit areas, the population was decreasing to danger line after 19th century and now listed as endangered species in Europe.

It is not the first mail from Liechtenstein, last mail is an interested registered mail with 8/8/2008 cancellations. This mail, thanks for Vural who sent me from Vaduz, is my third mail from this small and philatelic country.