To celebrate the Palace Museum's centenary and International Museum Day, the United Nations Postal Administration recently issued a sheet of 10 commemorative stamps — each valued at $1.65 — marking the first time the administration has released a special event sheet stamp for a single museum.

All the stamps feature floral designs inspired by the museum's artifacts or architecture. For instance, the crab apple blossom motif of one stamp is derived from an album of flowers and birds painted by Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) court artist Yu Zhi, while the red narcissus design of the stamp comes from a Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) plate adorned with the same pattern. The interleaving paper beneath the 10 stamps depicts the Gate of Divine Prowess (Shenwu Men) of the Forbidden City, rendered in red, a dominant color in the palace's architectures.

Source: GDToday
Editor: Lei Yuhong