Officer of Nauplia with a Greek Bride and a Greek Merchant, Lithograph, 1842

This original antique lithograph, hand colored, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows an officer seated on a rock by the shore, in a red fez, a white jacket and leggings embroidered in yellow, a full white fustanella and a red sash, holding a long gun with a sword at his side. Across the water a boat passes a low fortified building on a hill. The lower image shows at left the head and shoulders of a bride, her eyes lowered, in a tall crimson headdress bordered in gold, topped with yellow tassels and hung with gold pendants, her long loose hair falling over a flowered mantle, with gold necklaces at her throat. At right a merchant in a striped turban, red vest, brown waistcoat and green trousers sits on a blue cloak, writing on a sheet of paper with a pen.

The top margin is lettered "Tav 131", "GRECIA" and "Tom IV". The captions read "Officiale di Naupilia" (Officer of Nauplia), "Sposa Greca" (Greek bride) and "Mercante Greco" (Greek merchant).

Nauplia, today Nafplio, in the Peloponnese, was the capital of independent Greece until 1834, when the seat of government moved to Athens. The fustanella, the pleated white kilt, was worn by Greek fighters in the War of Independence and became part of the national dress.

Rich in red and gold, this plate is a fine choice for a collection of Greek subjects or of Mediterranean costume.

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