A Dalmatian, Montenegrins and Clementine Women in Costume, 1842

This original antique lithograph, colored by hand, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). In the upper image a woman at left wears a blue headscarf, a long purple sleeveless coat over a white dress with embroidered sleeves, and yellow boots, carrying a basket and a pair of birds. At right a moustached man in a yellow cap, a purple robe and a long yellow cloak rests on a long gun, and beside him a woman in a white veil edged in yellow, a white dress and a red hem holds a sprig. In the lower image two women are shown by a tree: one standing with a distaff and spindle, in a white headdress set with round ornaments, a crimson jacket trimmed in yellow, a flowered apron and a blue skirt; the other seated in a white turban, a white dress and a long yellow edged coat, with a basket at her feet.

The top margin is lettered "Tom. IV" at left, "EUROPA" in the center and "Tav. 106" at right. The upper captions read "Dalmatino." (Dalmatian) and "Montenegrini" (Montenegrins), and the lower one "Donne Clementine" (Clementine women).

Dalmatia is the Adriatic coast of present day Croatia, and Montenegro lies just to the south. The Clementi, or Kelmendi, were a clan of the northern Albanian highlands near the Montenegrin border. Spinning with distaff and spindle while standing or walking was a common sight in the rural Balkans.

Spinning, weapons and embroidered dress give the plate plenty of detail for a collection of Balkan subjects.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.