Stamps on Brinquinho – Madeira 2014.
The theme for the year 2014 EUROPA issue was Musical Instruments. Madeira issued a miniature sheet containing two stamps on a prominent musical instrument of Madeira – Brinquinho. The stamps feature a musician playing a Brinquinho and the Brinquinho. The stamps are E 20 gr ( FV 0.70 euro).
Brinquinho – A Brinquinho ( meaning toy) is a very popular musical instrument of Madeira. It consists of dolls dressed in traditional dress. The figures carry a small castanet on their back. The Figurines or dolls are most often filled with sawdust. They are arranged in a circular fashion on two circular and superposed metal arcs. The castanets are mostly in wood. Furthermore, soda or beer bottle lids are fixed to the feet of the dolls.
These dolls are all attached to an articulated piston by an ingenious mechanism. The closest I can think of to describe it is that it has similarities with the apparatus used to open and close an umbrella. This mechanism if skillfully handled makes the dolls dance rhythmically. This frenetic dance activates the castanets. Hence it acts as an indirect percussion instrument.
The origin of this instrument could be North Portugal or Angola.
A First Day Cover with Miniature Sheet is listed.
