This post features the Tunisian instrument stamps set from 1970. That year, the North African country created four postage stamps depicting traditional musical instruments. Sets of instruments are very popular features from countries around the world. On this blog, you can see sets from Thailand, Gabon, Norway, El Salvador, Papua New Guinea, among others.
It seems clear that there are multiple purposes for such sets. First, they typically celebrate the culture of a country. Secondly, they can help to create a sense of national unity through pride of this culture. Third, they can highlight the traditions of different, sometimes minority, ethnic groups. Finally, I think that there is also an aesthetic reason. Such sets have a natural cohesion that can be easily identifiable as a part of a set, while different enough to be useful, for example, on different prices of stamps.
Tunisia is a small country on the Mediterranean Coast of North Africa between Libya and Algeria. The country has a very long and rich history, sitting at the intersection between events in Africa and Europe since antiquity. Significantly, the country was a part of the Ottoman Empire for nearly three hundred years and then was a French colony for for another seventy-five years. The overwhelmingly Islamic country has only had independence since 1956.
The Stamp Set
The four stamps are quite striking. Three of them feature a single instrument, while the fourth stamp depict a pair of instruments. The instruments sit against colorful backgrounds that are reminiscent of mosaic tilework. The tile designs look like they are walls and floors and sometimes abut each other to make it look like the instrument is sitting in a corner or on a ledge. The instrument name appears in both French and Arabic. At the bottom of each stamp in French it reads Republique Tunisienne (Republic of Tunisia). Presumably, the Arabic script across the top also says the country name. The stamps are the design of the Tunsian born artist Jellal Ben Abdallah (1921-2017). The stamps were printed by Hélio Courvoisier SA in Switzerland.
The Oud
The first stamp has the denomination of 25 LSd (Tunisian milim). It features a short-neck lute, or more specifically the oud, a pear-shaped plucked stringed instrument with a bowlback made. The instrument is in use throughout the Middle East and North Africa and is the ancestor of the Medieval European lute. The instrument has no frets and is played with a plectrum.
The Kanun
The second stamp in the set, with a denomination of 50 LSd, features the kanun. A player places the instrument in their lap and uses plectrum or long fingernails to pluck the strings. The bridges along the right side (in the image) rest on stretched skins covering an internal cavity. Another interesting feature are small levers under the strings, called mandals, that can be quickly raised or lowered to change the pitch while the instrument is in use. One of the great things about the stamp is it shows a tuning key on one of the tuning pegs.
Check out this great video of a Turkish kanun:
The Rebab
The next instrument in the series, on the stamp with the denoination of 70 LSd is the rebab. The bowed instrument is probably an ancestor of the European rebec and the violin. The two string instrument has an elongated pear shape and a belly of skin. The fingerboard traditionally has several very decorative rosettes. The instrument is held in front of the player with the bottom sitting on the floor and the instrument is bowed like a cello.
The Naqarah and the Ney
The final stamp in the series, the 90 LSd denomination, features two instruments. Small drums known as naqarah and the ney (flute). The drums are kettledrums, or bowls, with a skin stretched across the open end. Players use sticks to beat the drums. Laying next to the drum is an end-blown flute with six finger holes called the ney.
