FOCUS ON PHILATELY: A worthy winner for the 2000 Narbut Prize (11/05/00)

FOCUS ON PHILATELY

by Ingert Kuzych

A worthy winner for the 2000 Narbut Prize

For the third year in a row, a historical souvenir sheet topped the field in balloting for the Heorhiy Narbut Prize. Awarded annually by the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society for the previous year's best-designed philatelic issue, the year 2000 Narbut Prize goes to Oleksiy Shtanko for his masterful creation honoring Yaroslav the Wise (1078-1054), ruler of Rus' (medieval predecessor state of Ukraine). Once more this year, the illustrated ballot that appeared in The Ukrainian Weekly in May greatly spurred participation in the selection process.

A description of the winner

Hues of red and gold predominate on the souvenir sheet, which depicts Yaroslav on the left supporting a sword. On the right is the ecclesiastic Ilarion (birth unknown, died prior to 1054), the first native-born (non-Greek) metropolitan of Kyiv, who leans on a staff.

Since both men valued education and the written word, it is not surprising that they are both depicted holding books. Yaroslav displays a bound volume of the Rus'ka Pravda, the most important collection of old Ukrainian-Rus' laws that was first compiled during his reign. Ilarion, holding an open book, codified the laws governing Church life and defended the independence of the Rus' Church from the hierarchy of Byzantium. The inscription between the two men reads: "Kyiv in the 10th-11th Centuries, City of Yaroslav" and depicted in the background is a view of medieval Kyiv (Figure 1).

The text that appears around the central scene, and that forms a type of verbal frame, is taken from the "Povist Vremennykh Lit," the surviving chronicle of the time. The text states: "Yaroslav built the great citadel of Kyiv, near which stands the Golden Gate. He also founded the Metropolitan Church of St. Sophia, the Church of the Annunciation over the Golden Gate... he assembled many scribes who translated [books] from Greek into Slavic."

Runners-up

Apparently the public really appreciated Mr. Shtanko's work as it garnered 16 percent of the hundreds of votes submitted this year. Tied for second place were three stamp issues, each of which received just over 8 percent of the ballots.

One recalled Ukraine's patron, St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle. The stamp shows the baroque and much-loved St. Andrew's Cathedral in Kyiv enfolded in the arms of an angel. The attached label presents the saint holding a cross and in the act of blessing the future site of Kyiv which, according to legend, he visited in the first century A.D. (Figure 2).

Very interesting and surprising was another release that voters really appreciated: the Christmas stamp showing a group of carolers drawn in a humorous (cartoon-like) "folk style" (Figure 3). One of the designers of this issue was Oleksander Zharivsky, a member of the Ukrainian Philatelic and Numismatic Society from Lviv. This unusual holiday depiction easily surpassed the votes received by the other (more traditional) Christmas stamp depicting a Nativity icon.

The final runner-up issue, which commemorated the 1,100th anniversary of Poltava, displayed the colorful coat of arms of the city on an ancient scroll (Figure 4). The much-touted Scythian gold issue received less than 5 percent of the vote.

* * *

Many thanks to all who participated in the balloting. So far this year, Ukraine Post has produced some truly spectacular issues. It should make the 2001 Narbut Prize selection process a challenge indeed.

Former winners

It seems that the souvenir sheet format is becoming quite popular. The five issued in 1999 were a record and since 1993, when the Narbut Prize was initiated, four of the eight winners have been souvenir sheets.

The Heorhiy Narbut Prize is named after Ukraine's famous graphic artist of the early 20th century who designed many of Ukraine's first stamps and banknotes. Prize winners receive an engraved certificate and a $250 cash prize. Below are the award winners since its inception:

1993 - Larysa Koren, the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Mykola Lysenko; and Oleh Snarsky, National Flag and Trident Emblem of Ukraine (tied in voting).
1994 - Yuriy Lohvyn, 75th Anniversary of Ukraine's First Postage Stamps.
1995 - Serhiy Byelyayev, 160th Anniversary of Kyiv University (stamp and souvenir sheet).
1996 - Yuriy Lohvyn, Hetmans of Ukraine series.
1997 - Serhiy Byelyayev, 150th Anniversary of the Kyiv University Astronomical Observatory (stamp triptych).
1998 - V. Taran and O. Kharuk, the Founding of Kyiv (Europa souvenir sheet).
1999 - V. Taran, O. Kharuk, S. Kharuk and V. Kozachenko, the 350th Anniversary of the Beginning of the Ukrainian Struggle for Freedom under Bohdan Khmelnytsky (souvenir sheet).
2000 - Oleksiy Shtanko, Yaroslav the Wise (souvenir sheet).

New website focuses on stamp collecting

| Home Page |