Readers choose the best Ukrainian stamps of the decade

by Ingert Kuzych

For the past 10 years, it has been my pleasure to present the annual Heorhiy Narbut Prize for the best-designed Ukrainian stamp. Last year a special edition of the Narbut Prize was set up to determine "the best stamp issue of Ukraine's first decade of independence."

The balloting for this Special Narbut Prize has now been concluded and two souvenir sheets have been declared co-winners. Between themselves, the 1997 "Founding of Kyiv" souvenir sheet and the 2000 "Wildflowers of Ukraine" souvenir sheet nabbed 60 percent of all the votes. The closest challenger was a "Yaroslav the Wise" souvenir sheet from 1999 with 13 percent.

Both winning items are striking for their uniqueness and beauty. The first depicts the legendary founders of Ukraine's capital: the brothers Kyi, Schek, and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid. According to the ancient manuscript "Povist Vremenykh Lit" (Tale of Bygone Years), the siblings established the city some 1,500 years ago on a wooded, hilly site overlooking the Dnipro. Kyi, a powerful and popular ruler, traveled down the river to Constantinople to visit the Byzantine emperor, who "received him with great respect and honor."

Surrounding the two 40-kopiyka stamps that dominate the 100-by-80-mm sheet, and that depict the four founders, are miniature vignettes that illustrate aspects of this tale. Along the top, on either side of the word "Kyiv" are various wooden buildings of the early town. Shown along the bottom are the sailing ships of Kyi's expedition to Byzantium. Along the sides, interspersed with ancient motifs, is the story itself, written in Ukrainian. The Cyrillic microprint may be read quite easily with the aid of a simple magnifying glass. All in all, a very original and imaginative design.

The same description applies to the other winner, a large (130-by-150-mm souvenir sheet depicting both Ukraine's floral and feminine beauty. Ukrainian women often use flowers to adorn themselves, particularly at festivals and celebrations. A different flower highlights each of the 10 30-kopiyka stamps of the souvenir sheet. Six of the depicted wildflowers compose the floral wreath worn by a hazel-eyed young lady. (Such dark-colored eyes, kari ochi, are frequently lauded in Ukrainian song and poetry.)

Starting in the upper left, the flowers in the oversized headdress are marigold (chornobryvtsia), camomile (romashka), hollyhock (malva), and the field poppy (mak). The middle left stamp shows periwinkle minor (barvinok). This plant plays a special significance at Ukrainian weddings, where wreaths of periwinkle are made for both the bride and groom. The middle right stamp displays the last flower in the headdress, the bachelor's button or cornflower (voloshka synia). It is frequently used to decorate wedding wreaths.

The remaining four wildflowers making up the field in front of the central figure are: morning glory (krucheni panychi), lilies (lileya), peonies (pivonia), and bluebells (dzvonyky).

Participants in this Special Narbut Prize balloting obviously felt strongly that these were the two best philatelic designs from Ukraine's first decade. In the final voting, however, the "Founding of Kyiv" sheet actually nosed out the "Wildflowers" sheet by two votes. Nevertheless, I could not bear to see either of these lovely works of art lose.

Since both issues stood out so strongly from the rest of the field, and since the voting was so close, I have decided, as sponsor of the Narbut Prize, to declare the two souvenir sheets co-winners. After all, this competition is meant to promote and popularize Ukraine's philatelic designs, not in any way to denigrate. It is not like the Olympics, where a single winner usually must be determined.

The prize money will be divided among Volodymyr Taran and Oleksander Kharuk (the "Founding of Kyiv" designers) and Kateryna Shtanko (the "Wildflowers of Ukraine" designer). Congratulations to all three of these excellent artists.

We can now look forward to equally enthralling philatelic designs in Ukraine's second decade of stamp production. Next month's "Focus on Philately" will feature Ukraine's stamp and souvenir sheet issues of 2001 and allow readers to choose their favorites from the first year of the new decade.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 7, 2002, No. 14, Vol. LXX

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