Circassian Warrior of the Caucasus, Antique Hand-Colored Costume Print, 1854

Circassian Warrior of the Caucasus, an original antique hand colored print of 1854 from the second volume of Heinrich Berghaus's work on the peoples of the world in its Dutch edition. The plate is captioned in Dutch TSCHERKESSIER OF CIRCASSIER., which reads in English as Circassian, with the Dutch caption giving two spellings of the name. The figure is an armed man, seen from behind. The coloring is applied by hand over a printed outline.

He stands with his back three-quarters to the viewer, his head turned to the right in profile, showing a moustache and a round cap banded in pink and white. A long flintlock musket stands upright at his left side, held in his left hand, its butt on the ground and a cord hanging from it. He wears a yellow tunic over layered skirts in yellow, blue and orange edged in red, with mail visible on the forearms, blue stockings and red slippers. A saber with a gilt hilt hangs in a red scabbard at his left hip, and a long cased object is slung on his back from a strap across his shoulder. His right hand rests on his hip.

The caption is the only lettering on the sheet. No artist, lithographer or printer is named on the plate, and it carries no plate number. The figure stands on the plain paper of the page with no frame line, and the caption is printed in small capitals below.

The plate comes from the second volume of De Volken van den Aardbodem, the Dutch edition of Heinrich Berghaus's illustrated work on the peoples of the world, translated from the German by M. J. van Oven and published at Gorinchem by J. Noorduyn en Zoon in 1854. The title page of the volume announces 120 extra fine plates colored after nature. Berghaus was a German geographer, best known for his Physikalischer Atlas.

Loss or wear at the bottom right corner. Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along all four edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.

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