Ottoman Servant, a Food Carrier and Costumes of Bosnia, Lithograph, 1842

This is an original antique lithograph with hand coloring from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image is set on a plank floor before a low wall. At the left a mustached man in a white turban and a long pink and white striped robe, a yellow towel over his shoulder and a brown pouch at his side, holds a small dark jug by the handle; at the right a man in a white turban, lilac shirt and full crimson trousers balances on his head a large round tray of covered dishes, steadying it with one hand. The lower image shows two mustached men outdoors in long blue coats over brown robes and baggy trousers, with yellow slippers: the man at the left wears a white and yellow turban and holds a curved knife, while the man at the right, in a tall ribbed cap with a yellow trimmed collar, points toward him.

The top margin is lettered "Tav 126" at the left, "TURCHIA EUROPEA" in the center and "Tom IV" at the right. The caption under the upper image reads "Cameriere e Porta vivande" (servant and food carrier) and the caption under the lower image reads "Costumi di Bosnia" (costumes of Bosnia).

In 1842 Bosnia was a province of the Ottoman Empire, which explains its place among the plates headed for European Turkey.

The tray carrier with his dome of covered dishes is the liveliest figure on the sheet and gives the plate an easy appeal in a kitchen or dining room.

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