Guard of the Grand Vizier, a Janissary and Omer and Ebu Bekir, 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 three men. At left a bearded man in a tall striped cap and a long magenta robe stands with his hands at his chest. In the center a man in a tall gold headdress with a white veil, a magenta robe with a gold sash and collar, a fur lined orange cloak and red boots holds a long spear and wears a dagger at his waist. At right a man in a white turban, a blue jacket with fur trim and full orange trousers carries a bow across his back, a decorated case at his hip and a saber. The lower image shows two bearded men in white turbans seated on a patterned floor facing each other, their hands open in conversation: at left one in an ocher robe holds a book, and at right one in a green robe with a gold sash; between them a bound book rests on a low red stand.

The lettering reads "Tav 112" at upper left, "EUROPA" in the center and "Tom IV" at upper right. The upper captions read "Seg.º delle Guardie" (an officer of the Guards, his title abbreviated on the plate), "Guardia del Gran Visir" (Guard of the Grand Vizier) and "Giannizzero" (Janissary). The lower caption reads "Omer ed Ebu-bekir" (Omer and Ebu Bekir).

The janissaries were the standing infantry of the Ottoman sultans until their abolition in 1826, and the grand vizier was the sultan's chief minister. Abu Bakr and Umar, here spelled in their Turkish forms, were the first two caliphs after the Prophet Muhammad.

The rich magentas and oranges make this a handsome plate for a collection of Ottoman costume.

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