Sheet of 20 stamps from 'The Best Sewerage For The Best People'
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1996
This object is a perforated sheet of 20 artist's stamps, forming one of four sheets from the project 'The Best Sewerage For The Best People' and part of the set '80 Moscow Manhole Covers'. Created by the Russian artist Alexander Kholopov in 1996, the work is produced as a colour offset lithograph in lime green and black on paper. The entire sheet measures 78.8 cm in height and 53.9 cm in width, featuring five horizontal and six vertical lines of perforations.
Each stamp within the sheet features a distinct central design depicting a manhole cover. The individual designs are enclosed by text and numbers in both Russian and English. Individual stamps carry the English caption 'THE BEST SEWERAGE FOR THE BEST PEOPLE' along the top, accompanied by values stated from 5 to 7 gram/gold. The margins of the individual stamps include names of Western European or US celebrities or historic events, inscribed in Russian along the left margin and in English along the right margin.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Alexander Kholopov, a Moscow-based artist, was a prominent practitioner of Mail Art and the artist's stamp format. Having developed an early fascination with foreign stamps acquired covertly during the Soviet era, his work often engaged with the aesthetic conventions of official Soviet postage. This series ironizes the patriotic souvenir stamp sets issued by the Soviet state to celebrate technological feats or architectural monuments, using manhole covers and cultural references to introduce satire and black humour.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Colour offset lithograph in green and black on paper
- Dimensions
- Height: 78.8 cm; Width: 53.9 cm
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: The individual stamps which form E.217:3 and E.217:4-2006 are variously lettered in English, including with the caption across the tops of the stamps ' THE BEST SEWERAGE FOR THE BEST PEOPLE' and a value (from 5-7 gram/gold)The only lettering in Russian is, on the left margin, the name of a western European or US Celebrity or historic event (the name/event is in English on the right).; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: Research required; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Maker recorded
- Kholopov, Alexander
- Place recorded
- Russia
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- One of 4 sheets of 20 stamps comprising the project 'The Best Sewerage For The Best People'.
- Museum object number
- E.217:3-2006
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.