Earlier this year, MaltaPost issued a set of five stamps in commemoration of Melchiorre Gafa’s death 350 years ago.
Gafa’, also known as Cafa’ was a Maltese sculptor renowned for his Roman Baroque style. He was born in Vittoriosa Malta in 1636 and baptised as Marcello; however, after moving to Rome in 1658, he was most frequently referred to as Melchior or Melchiorre. His works are to be found in many major international museums and collections.
FIVE WORKS OF ART
The €0.20, €0.42, €0.51, €1.00 and €1.16 stamps, which were issued on Sept. 4, depict five of Gafa’s works in wax which are currently on display at the Mdina Cathedral Museum. The five bozzetti featured are La Gloria Di Santa Rosa Da Lima; La Gloria Di Santa Caterina Da Siena; L’Annunciazione; L’Adorazione Dei Pastori; and La Natività
The stamps were issued in sheets of 10 stamps with each stamp measuring 31 mm by 44 mm, a perforation of 13.9 by 14.0 (comb.) bearing the Maltese Crosses watermark. The sheets measure 185 mm by 115 mm. Printex Limited produced the set in offset, and the issue consists of 50,000 stamps of each denomination. All photography was by Daniel Cilia while stamp design was by Sean Cini.
For more information, visit maltaphilately.com.