FOCUS ON PHILATELY
by Ingert Kuzych
'Welcome to Ukraine' souvenir sheet wins Narbut Prize
Ukraine has many breathtakingly beautiful tourist sites, and a few of these were presented in a special Europa "Welcome to Ukraine" issue released in April of last year. Ukraine Post depicted several of the country's most photogenic sites on both a souvenir sheet and (in a slightly reduced size) in a special presentation booklet. This very colorful issue was also one of Ukraine's most romantic to date, and it was not surprising when it was announced that it won the prestigious Heorhii Narbut Prize as the best-designed Ukrainian stamp of 2004.
The image on this Europa issue shows five different landscape scenes imbedded in a flowered headdress (Figure 1). Such wreaths, generally tied in the back with colorful ribbons, are worn by many Ukrainian women as part of their traditional folk attire. The four largest scenes appear in stamps of various denominations, while the fifth photo lies tucked into the lower left corner.
About the tourist sites
Since last year's Europa theme centered on tourism, Ukraine Post decided to have its issue display some of Ukraine's most renowned tourist destinations. The 45-kopiyka value in the upper left shows the famous "Swallow's Nest" castle in Crimea. This rather Gothic-looking structure at Cape Ai-Todor, not far from Yalta, was completed in 1911 for a Baron Schteingel and today is one of the most popular destinations on the peninsula.
The 2.61-hrv value in the upper center shows Khotyn Castle in Chernivtsi Oblast. First built in the 13th century and later expanded during the 15th and 16th centuries, the strategic site was an object of conquest in the Kozak, Polish and Russian wars with the Turks in the 17th and 18th centuries.
The image on the 75-kopiyka stamp in the upper right shows a woodland scene with stream in the Carpathian Mountains of western Ukraine. This area is famed for its hiking, camping and skiing venues, in addition to being the home of the Hutsul mountain folk, whose elaborate woodworking and embroidery never fail to amaze and delight all visitors.
The high-value 3.52-hrv stamp in the lower right depicts one of Ukraine's most famous religious structures, the spectacular Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv. Founded in the mid-11th century, it was expanded in subsequent centuries and became a leading center of learning in the Orthodox Church.
Finally, the image in the lower left is of a straw-thatched cottage as seen in an outdoor ethnographic museum. Such structures were still quite common in the early 20th century, but are becoming rare today.
The design of the souvenir sheet was the work of Maria Heiko, while the photography is by Yuriy Buslenko. Both will receive equal shares of the $250 Narbut Prize honorarium.
Other top vote-getters
Earlier this year the "Welcome to Ukraine" souvenir sheet placed third in the voting for best 2004 Europa stamp design. However, for the Narbut Prize balloting, the issue finished head and shoulders above the rest of the competition, receiving 19 percent of the votes.
The battle for the next several places turned out to be a real dogfight. The "Ukrainian Folk Costumes" souvenir sheet ended up squeaking into second place with 9 percent of the ballots. The 2004 version of this ongoing series showed the attire and customs of the Hutsul region of the Carpathian Mountains (Figure 2). The Folk Costumes stamps have finished among the top vote-getters every year since the series began in 2001, finishing first in 2002 and second in 2001 and now 2004.
Coming in third with 8.5 percent of the votes were the stamps making up the History of the Ukrainian Army issue, which last year depicted medieval warriors and warfare (Figure 3). The Ukrainian army stamps also typically do well every year. This phenomenon is likely the result of the fact that more male than female voters submit ballots every year despite the fact that the voting is open to anyone who wishes to participate.
There was a three-way tie for fourth place: receiving 8 percent of the votes were four stamps showing "Bridges" (Figure 4), four stamps depicting "Kyiv Through Artists' Eyes" (Figure 5) and a souvenir sheet of "The Regalia of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky" (Figure 6). The hetmans were Kozak leaders of the 15th to the 18th centuries; Khmelnytsky led a successful revolt against the Poles in the mid-16th century, which resulted in an autonomous Hetman state that lasted for over a century.
The broad array of subjects depicted on Ukraine's stamps seems to resonate with Ukraine's citizens as well as with collectors. Almost every one of last year's stamps or souvenir sheets appealed to someone and subsequently received some votes.
The Narbut Prize is sponsored by the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society (UPNS), which is based in the U.S. It continues to be recognized as the premier philatelic art award in Ukraine. Past winning designs and their artist creators have all been prominently featured in Filatelia Ukrainy, Ukraine's leading philatelic periodical. The Heorhii Narbut Prize honors Ukraine's outstanding graphic artist of the early 20th century. Narbut prepared the three high-value stamps (30, 40, and 50 shahy) from Ukraine's first postage stamp issue of 1918. He also designed about a dozen of Ukraine's first banknotes.
Readers wishing to examine all of last year's stamps (or the issues from any year) in full color, may do so online at the Ukrainian Electronic Stamp Album (www.ukrainian-philately.info). Click on 2004 or on any other year's issues you may wish to check out. Past Narbut Prize winners as well as runners-up may be viewed on the website of the UPNS (www.upns.org).
A list of past winners
The Narbut Prize has been awarded annually since 1993 for the best-designed stamp of the previous year (Ukraine resumed stamp production only in 1992). The award was established by Dr. Ingert Kuzych, well-known philatelic author, editor and exhibitor, who currently serves as the UPNS's president. Below are the winners of the Narbut Prize since its inception. The 2005 "Welcome to Ukraine" winner was the seventh souvenir sheet to receive the Narbut Prize in the past eight years.
Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150 or at his e-mail address: ingert@starpower.net.
Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, September 11, 2005, No. 37, Vol. LXXIII
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