A Woman of the Mani, Costume of Patras and Hydra, a Greek Bishop, 1842

An original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows a woman seated on a rock in a yellow veil over a red and white cap, an orange jacket, a white chemise and a skirt banded in green and pink; beside her a woman standing in a yellow turban and long yellow scarf, a pink and white striped jacket and a green skirt, carrying a child in her arms. The lower image shows an old bearded man in a hooded cream mantle over a dark jacket and white kilt, leaning on a tall crook, with a small boy in a red cap and a jacket marked with a red cross at his side, and a Greek bishop with a long white beard in a black cap and veil, yellow robes and a green stole, raising his right hand in blessing and holding a staff topped with two curling heads, on a tiled floor.

The top margin is lettered "Tom IV", "GRECIA" and "Tav 133". Under the upper image: "Donna di Maina" (Woman of the Mani) and "Costume di Padros e d' Hydea" (Costume of Patras and Hydra). Under the lower image: "Predicator borghese Tebano con un novizio" (Theban lay preacher with a novice) and "Vescovo Greco" (Greek bishop).

The Mani is the rugged central peninsula of the southern Peloponnese, Patras is the main port of the northwest Peloponnese, and Hydra is an island in the Saronic Gulf. The staff carried by bishops of the Orthodox Church typically ends in a pair of curved serpent heads.

A quiet, well balanced plate for anyone with a connection to Greece.

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