winged figure of Victoria - 10 lira

winged figure of Victoria - 10 lira

Year
1937
Face Value
10
Mint Value
-
Used Value
-
Print Run
-
Themes
Art

Catalogs References

Michel
IT-LY B62C
Yvert & Tellier
IT-LY 55
Stanley Gibbons
LY 61

Technical Details

Colors
Dark blue
Perforation
11
This definitive stamp utilizes classical allegory to reinforce themes of governance, victory, and colonial development by depicting a winged figure of Victoria holding a crown aloft. In the background, a sprawling cityscape punctuated by traditional minarets anchors the scene within the geographic reality of Libya, creating a visual juxtaposition between European imperial imagery and indigenous North African heritage. Flanking the central vignette are prominent stylized columns bearing ears of wheat, which carry a powerful symbolic message of agricultural fertility, economic exploitation, and rural abundance under colonial administration. By framing this symbolic program within the official text of "Colonie Italiane Poste," the stamp serves as an institutional tool of political prestige, projecting an idealized narrative of peace, prosperity, and civilization.