Frisian Fishermen, a Sledge on Ice and Peasants of Schouwen and Walcheren, 1842

This original antique lithograph, hand colored, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). In the upper image a fisherman in a striped cap, long blue coat and brown breeches stands mending a net beside a seated woman in a dark banded cap, black bodice and white apron at a spinning wheel; across a frozen waterway a woman in a green hat sits in a sledge with a pink cover, and a woman in a checked headscarf and long floral coat stands pointing, with a windmill and bare trees on the far bank. In the lower image a couple at left: the woman in a straw hat, flowered bodice laced with pink ribbon and checked skirt, the man in an orange jacket and flowered waistcoat with a pipe and a spade; at right a woman in a straw hat, pink shawl and striped skirt with a basket, talking to a man in a lilac coat and green breeches carrying a forked pole and a basket on his back.

The top margin is lettered "Tom. IV", "BEGLIO ED OLANDA" and "Tav. 83". The upper captions read "Pescatori Frilandesi" (Frisian fishermen) and "Frilandesi con la. Slitta" (Frisians with the sledge). The lower read "Contadini di Sciuven" (Peasants of Schouwen) and "Contadini di Valcher" (Peasants of Walcheren).

Friesland lies in the north of the Netherlands, where skating and sledging on frozen canals were part of winter life. Schouwen and Walcheren are islands of Zeeland in the southwest, whose country people were known for their distinctive dress. The heading's "BEGLIO" is the engraver's slip for Belgio, Belgium.

The winter scene and the patterned dress make this an appealing plate for a collection of Dutch subjects.

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