Habit of a Lady of Livonia in 1577, Hand Colored Jefferys Costume Plate, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving with hand coloring, lettered in script "Habit of a Lady of Livonia, in 1577." A lady stands in three quarter view under a tall, pointed headdress of gold set with ornament, with wide fur rolls framing her face. A long cloak striped in red and green and edged with fur falls from her shoulders to the ground over a pale blue gray gown. Her hands are folded at her waist, holding a long string of beads, and a blue purse hangs beside them.

The French caption below reads "Dame Livonienne.", meaning Livonian lady. The plate number 190 is engraved at lower right; no artist or engraver is named.

Thomas Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, published A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern in London in 1757, and this plate comes from the second volume. The title page names Holbein, Vandyke, Hollar and others as the sources of the designs, and the book also bears a French title, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, matching the French captions engraved beneath each English title. Livonia was the historic Baltic region that now lies within Latvia and Estonia. In 1577 it was being fought over by Russia, Poland Lithuania and Sweden.

With its clear single figure and wide margins, the plate is easy to mount and frame, alone or as part of a small group.

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