Restoration of the Sistine Chapel
Issue of 1991

The first set of Vatican City stamps to focus on the restoration of the Sistine Chapel was released on April 9, 1991. The set consisted of twelve stamps showing details from six of the fourteen lunettes, painted by Michelangelo. The lunettes are the arched apertures along the dome of the ceiling. The stamps depict the following ancestors of Christ. 50 lire and 100 lire (Scott 870-871): lunette of Eleazar, a priest who succeeded his father, Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses: 150 lire and 250 lire (Scott 872-873): lunette of Jacob, patriarch of the Israelites: 350 lire and 400 lire (Scott 874-875): lunette of Josiah, king of Judah who instituted major religious reforms: 500 lire and 650 lire (Scott 876-877): lunette of Asa, third king of Judah and fifth king of the House of David: 800 lire and 1000 lire (Scott 878-879): lunette of Zerubbabel, one of the leaders of the first wave of Jewish returnees from exile: 2000 lire and 3000 lire (Scott 880-881): lunette of Azor, the great-grandson of Zerubbabel and an ancestor of David: The restoration of the lunettes took place between 1980 and 1984. The Wikipedia reference below provides some detail into the processes undertaken during the restoration of the frescoes. The stamps of this issue were printed in two formats. First, all the stamps were individually printed in sheets of twenty. In addition, the 100 lire, 150 lire and 650 lire stamps were printed in booklet panes of six stamps each and included in a booklet release for the stamps, with each booklet bearing a total price of 5400 lire. The cover of the booklet, shown below, pictures stamps issued by Vatican City. Also shown below is a booklet pane of six of the 100 lire stamps. The back cover of the booklet bears an image of the Vatican Railway Station which, at the time of the release of these stamps, was the site of the Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum. Booklet Cover and Booklet Pane for Scott 871 REFERENCES: Wikipedia entries for Eleazar, Jacob, Josiah, Asa, Zerubbabel and Azor Wikipedia, Sistine Chapel Wikipedia, Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes Governatorato Vatican City, Philatelic Office, April 9, 1991, Regular Issue of Stamps: Restoration of the Sistine Chapel Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search