COMMONWEALTH DAY Issued 14th March, 1983
Extract from the Philatelic Bureau’s Bulletin No 1 of 1983
At a meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Melbourne in October 1981 it was decided that a special stamp issue should be made to commemorate Commonwealth Day on 14 March 1983.
The object of this decision was two-fold:
(i) to focus attention on Commonwealth Day and on the Commonwealth Association; and (ii) to provide a mechanism for raising supplementary resources for the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC). In order to achieve this, it was agreed that each associated country would donate 20,000 sets of Commonwealth Day issue to the CFTC. These sets to be mounted in commemorative omnibus albums and marketed in London.
The theme chosen by this country to commemorate Commonwealth Day promotes a relatively new art form in Zimbabwe and one which is becoming increasingly popular not only among local art lovers but earning a wide reputation in the international art world.
ZIMBABWEAN STONE SCULPTURE
The Zimbabwe Bird carvings, several of which were found by excavation at the Great Zimbabwe Ruins are the earliest known evidence of stone sculpture in this country. It has been speculated upon that these bird carvings are proof of a lost sculptural tradition followed by the early inhabitants of Zimbabwe. However, there is little further evidence to support this and it is generally accepted that no sculptural tradition existed. The aesthetic tradition of Zimbabwe manifested itself through the decorative designs applied to basketry, wooden head rests, pottery and other utilitarian objects.
The development of contemporary art in this country must be attributed to Serima and Cyrene Missions where sculpture and painting were first taught in the late 1940s and much of the credit must go to the late Canon Paterson who was instrumental in introducing and encouraging these extramural activities.
When the National Gallery was opened in 1957, a workshop school was started within the gallery building where artistic activity was encouraged and sculpture in various materials was developed. One such material was soapstone, a very soft rock of talc-like substance which can be easily carved with any sharp metal instrument. From soapstone the budding sculptors were then introduced to serpentine — a hard granite-like rock and from there on great strides were made.
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Groups were formed elsewhere, notably the Tengenenge group in Guruve under the guidance of Mr. Tom Bloemfield and that of Vukutu Farm near Inyanga where Mr. Joram Mariga taught carving to the people in an effort to provide them with a means of generating funds to purchase agricultural equipment.
The work has developed from these early beginnings into a contemporary form that is unique to Zimbabwe and which has been enthusiastically received in other parts of the world. The significance of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture is that it represents a genuine art movement in Africa but which owes no allegiance to the traditional, functional art form such as is found in West Africa and in addition, it transcends the tourist orientated work which proliferates in many African countries.
THE ARTISTS AND THE STAMPS
9 Cents
HENRY MUDZENGERERE Wing woman. 1977. Grey/black serpentine 64 x 36 x 10 cm. Collection National Gallery of Zimbabwe, 1977. Born in Guruve, Zimbabwe in 1933. A worker on a tobacco estate prior to joining the Tengenenge Sculpture Community in the mid-1960's 11 Cents
JOSEPH NDANOARIKA Telling Secrets. 1973. Green/orange serpentine. 47 x 49 x 19 cm. Collection National Gallery of Zimbabwe, 1973. Born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1940. An early member of the Workshop School of the NGZ which he joined in 1961. Initial work influenced greatly by traditional religion. 30 Cents
JOHN TAKAWIRA Hornbill Man, 1974. Black serpentine 38 x 62 x 26 cm. Collection National Gallery of Zimbabwe, 1974. Born near Chegutu, Zim- babwe in 1938. Associated with the Workshop School of the NGZ since 1961, working initially from the Vukufu Sculpture Com- munity in Inyanga, and after 1976 in Harare.
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1 Dollar
NICHOLAS MUKOMBERANWA The Chief. 1973. Black serpentine 101 x 52 x 29 cm. Collection National Gallery of Zimbabwe 1973. Born in the Buhera District of Zimbabwe in 1940. Studied sculpture at Serima Mission. Joined the police force in 1961 and in the same year began his association with the Workshop School of the NGZ. Left the police force in 1976 in order to sculpt full-time.
The works of all these artists have been exhibited regularly in Zimbabwe, and internationally in London, Paris, New York and Johannesburg.
Catalogue listings
SG ZSC1 Value Description
622 45 9c Henry Mudzengerere – “Wing Woman” 623 46 11c Joseph Ndandarika – “Telling Secrets” 624 47 30c John Takawira – “Hornbill Man” 625 48 $1 Nicholas Mukomberanwa – “The Chief”
Technical details
Stamp size: 9c & $1 28 x 42 mm 11c & 30c 42 x 28 mm
Sheet Size: 50 stamps (9c & $1 - 5 rows of 10 stamps, 11c & 30c - 10 rows of 5 stamps), two panes per printed sheet
Artist: See description above
Paper: ZSC paper type C –paper known as "Postmaster", manufactured and converted by Smith & McLaurin Ltd, Scotland. The coating is not as fluorescent as the previous papers and the gum is described as 'particle gummed'. It is a very different adhesive from PVA as it has a matt, non-reflective appearance. It is what is known as 'dry gum'.
Print colours: All values – 9c Cyan, yellow, magenta & black 11c Black, red, cyan, yellow 30c Black, magenta, cyan, orange $1 Dark blue, yellow, magenta, black
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Perforations: SG 14½, ZSC 14¼ 9c & $1 – left margin perforated through, other margins imperforate 11c & 30c – top margin perforated through, other margins imperforate
Printer: Mardon Printers (Pvt) Ltd., Harare, Zimbabwe
Printer’s Imprint: Bottom margin. Imprint printed in black 9c & $1. Below columns 4 to 7. 11c & 30c Below columns 2 to 4
Cylinder numbers: Cyls. 1A & 1B – colours reading from left to right 9c bottom margin below R5/1, black, magenta, yellow, cyan 11c right margin above R1/10, yellow, cyan, red, black 30c right margin above R1/10, black, magenta, cyan, orange $1 bottom margin bellow R5/1, black, magenta, yellow, dark blue
Colour register: Type TL 4 – round boxed – reading down 9c opposite R5/1 – cyan, yellow, magenta, black 11c opposite R1/10 – black, red, cyan, yellow 30c opposite R1/10 – black, magenta, cyan, orange $1 opposite R5/1 - dark blue, magenta, yellow, black
Sheet Value: All printed in black 9c & $1 below R5/10 11c & 30c above R1/1
Sheet Number: Type SN 4a with ‘PTC’ prefix, all reading upwards. 9c & $1 opposite R5/10 11c & 30c opposite R1/1
Print numbers: 9c 2,000,000 11c 1,000,000 30c 500,000 $1 500,000
Issue date: 14th March, 1983 (Postal Notice No 7of 1983, published 4.03.1983)
Withdrawal from sale: 13th June, 1983
Demonetarisation: 31st January, 1994
Listed varieties
No listed varieties are available for inclusion, if lists have been produced please forward
Unlisted varieties
There are numerous small dots and specks in the printing of these stamps, particularly in the backgrounds. Some dots and specks shown below are a bit more distinctive, some may be constant.
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Plate Shifts or Doubling?
The frames around three of the stamps, together with the coloured text, are made up of two of the printing colours. So, if there is a shift of one of the plates then these lines will show the different colours used. The colours used are:
9c & 11c cyan & yellow (the lines appear different due to the background colours produced with all four plates 30c magenta and cyan $1 magenta and yellow
The following three scans show three of the values with shifts in one of the print colours
9 cents
This appears to be a shift of the cyan plate to the right. Due to background colours the frame lines and text appear in two shades of green. Closer examination of the darker green will also show an area of cyan only
11 cents
The cyan plate appears to have dropped in this example. The top frameline and top if the value appears to be orange, ie lacking the cyan. The lower line and base of the value appears bluer in colour.
30 cents
The magenta plate appears to have moved to the right, giving each letter of the text three colours.
Also has dot under ‘M’ of Zimbabwe. R1/1
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1 dollar
Two cylinder blocks of four have been examined. It would appear that the magenta plate has moved to the right (see the outline of the sculpture), giving an “orange shadow” to the text in particular. Also it has been noted that the cylinder numbers have a doubling of the magenta and yellow. The yellow can be seen by the thickness of the letter compared to the other three.
This example therefore shows both a plate shft and a doubling of two of the print colours.
9c: Broken ‘E’ of
Commonwealth 9c: Shift of perforations to the right onto the left frame line
9c: Shift of yellow plate to 9c: Black dot above ‘C’ of 9c: Green spot to base of right, and yellow spot on ‘W’ Commonwealth sculpture of Zimbabwe
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11c: Black line below value, 9c: White dot in downward shift of yellow 11c: Cyan dot above logo Commonwealth logo
11c: Two black dots above 11c: Pink blob below ‘ZIM’, 30c: Doubling of cyan. difficult to see. Water on logo yellow plate.
$1: Dot under ‘M’ of $1: Magenta smudget left of $1: Dot left of ear Zimbabwe sculpture
First Day Covers
The cover numbering comes from the catalogue produced by Geoff Brakspear.
A special first day of issue canceller was produced for this issued and was used by the Philatelic Bureau. Other first day cover cancellers continued to be used at the main post offices.
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ZW010-1 (PTC) ZW010-2
213 x 114 mm 216 x 140 mm Fleetwood, Cheyanne, Wyoming, USA
Related Material
Postcard from National Gallery of Joseph Ndandarika’s “Telling Stories”, depicted on First day cover signed by four sculptors 30c stamp
Bibliography:
1. “The Zimbabwean Concise Postage Stamp Catalogue”, published by Harare Stamp Company, edited by Ken Allanson, Mike Amos and Geoff Brakspear. The catalogue continues to be updated and expanded by Geoff Brakspear 2. PTC Philatelic Bureau Bulletin No 1 of 1983.
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