Officer of the Guards, Guard, Mute and Palace Guard, 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 two men on open ground. At the left an older bearded officer wears a tall gold headdress crowned with a huge brown plume, a striped robe and a wide olive green mantle, his hands folded. At the right a guard with a curled mustache wears a tall gold cap with a green plume, an olive coat with a striped sash, a pleated striped skirt and boots, with a curved sword at his side and a halberd with a crescent axe blade. The lower image shows three men. At the left, under the caption "Muto", stands a man in an orange fur trimmed cap and a long crimson robe patterned in red, tied with a yellow sash. In the center a dark skinned man in a tall dark cap and a purple robe over striped trousers turns toward a man at the right in a tall blue cap, an olive coat and full red trousers.

The lettering reads "Tav. 108" at the top left, "EUROPA" at the center and "Tom IV" at the top right. Under the upper image: "Ufficiale delle Guardie" (officer of the guards) and "Guardia" (guard). Under the lower image: "Muto" (mute) and "Guardia di palazzo" (palace guard).

Mutes served at the Ottoman sultan's palace, where they were known for communicating in sign language. The caption itself names no court, and the plate carries the general heading Europa rather than a country.

Its strong colors and tall headdresses give it presence on a wall in a study or reading room.

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