Special 97 Eight Prized Horses Paintings Postage Stamps (1973) (D097)

Stamp SN : D097
Stamp Name : Special 97 Eight Prized Horses Paintings Postage Stamps (1973)
Stamp Cat Standard : Special Stamps
Stamp Cat : Mammals,Calligraphy & Paintings
Issue date : 1973-11-21
Dimension of stamps(mm.) : 51x36
Printer : Thomas de la Rue & Co., Ltd.,London
Sheet composition : US97.1-97.3 & 97.8 5×10
Process : Deep etch offset
Paper : Superior quality stamp paper
Perforation : 郵票 13 1/2 Souvenir sheets imperforate
Photographer : Liu Pao-chin

To introduce Chinese paintings, a series of stamps reproducing the Eight Prized Horses Paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione collected at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China was issued in two installments.The horses depicted on these paintings were gifts or tributes presented to Emperor Chien Lung (r.1736-1796) of the Ching dynasty (1644-1911 A.D.)by chieftains or courtiers from Chinese Turkestan. Emperor Chien Lung cherished those horses so much that he ordered his distinguished court painter, Castiglione, to feature them in ink and color on silk with the dimensions of each horse being carefully inscribed. Each of these paintings bears seals and poetic inscriptions by both the Emperor and the painter. The sourvenir sheet (150 × 121 mm.)is printed with 0.50, 1.00, 2.50 and 5.00 denominations of the stamps on a blue gray background. The four stamps have borders of mock printed perforation. In addition, the four 1.00 stamps in different designs are printed on one whole sheet.