There aren’t many engravers who
can boast that there first stamp has become a worldwide phenomenon, but that is
exactly what happened to Jiang Weijie’s first stamp, which happens to be the
1980 Chinese stamp for the Year of the Monkey. The famous ‘Bear Macaque’ monkey
against a red background is one of the key stamps within modern Chinese
philately, though, to be fair, that will have more to do with scarcity than
anything else.
Born in Beijing in 1950, Jiang has
worked for the Chinese post ever since 1971, where she is the senior industrial
artist. One of her main inspirations is the vast subject of Chinese history.
But in the Western world, Jiang’s
work may be more connected to Belgian stamp issues. Jiang was one of the
five engravers who worked on the Belgian sheet of 2014 celebrating Antwerp’s
market.
The idea behind this international collaboration was that the sheet
should also become a showcase of engraving techniques. Jiang’s stamp, the large
one depicting Antwerp’s town hall, for example, was engraved in what is
traditionally known as the American style.
Similarly, Jiang’s work may be found on the 2016 Ghent market
sheet. And her beautiful portrait engraving of the Duke of Wellington was included
in the 2015 sheet to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo.
You will find Jiang Weijie's database HERE.