Οn the occasion of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the EU, Hellenic Post (ELTA) has issued a set of four special stamps. Inspired by the sea - the symbolic background of the Greek Presidency logo, as well as a horizontal thematic running through the Presidency’s priorities - the four stamps combine ancient with contemporary art. 

 

Two of the themes depicted in the stamps are among the artifacts exhibited in the “Nautilus: Navigating Greece” exhibition at the Musée des Beaux Arts (Βozar) in Brussels.  One stamp is adorned by a detail from an unpublished Mycenaean fresco from the palace of Iklaina in Messinian Pylia (Museum of Pylos), showing the prow of a boat with three rowers and two dolphins. A contemporary artwork from the same exhibition in Brussels has also been selected for this special commemorative issue: a woodcut entitled “Aegean Sea Odes”, created by the painter and printmaker Mary Schina, assistant Professor at the Printmaking Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts, illustrating the transparency of the sea and its endless transformations by the transcendental Greek light. The third stamp depicts parts of the ggraphic design of the Greek Presidency logo, whereas the fourth stamp is a free composition. 

 

Special Presidency stamps, as well as complete sets, will be available at local Hellenic Post offices and the Central Philatelic Office until 14 January 2015. 

 

The stamps will be officially presented in Athens on 13 February. 

 

For more information, visit the Hellenic Post’s philately website