Sailors of Achadia and an Albanian Officer in Greek Costume, 1842

This original antique lithograph, colored by hand, is a plate from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). In the upper image a man in a white and yellow turban with a red tassel shoulders a long gun; he wears a red vest embroidered in white under a short brown jacket, a wide belt, a white pleated kilt with a blue and red hem, white leggings with red garters and sandals. Beside him a barefoot woman wears a white headdress touched with red, a yellow jacket, a white blouse with wide sleeves and a long yellow apron. In the lower image an officer reclines on the grass with a long pipe, in a red cap with a blue headcloth, a fur lined cloak, a green jacket worked in gold, a white kilt, a sword and red slippers; behind him a fortress crowns a rocky hill above a walled town on the water, with mountains beyond.

The top margin is lettered "Tav 130" at left, "GRECIA" in the center and "Tom IV" at right. The captions read "Marinari di Achadia" (Sailors of Achadia, as printed) and "Officiale Albanese" (Albanian officer).

The white pleated kilt worn by both men is the fustanella, the traditional dress of men in Greece and Albania in this period, worn by Greek fighters during the War of Independence. Albanian soldiers served widely in the region under Ottoman rule.

The reclining officer before his fortress landscape gives this plate a romantic air that suits a study or a collection of Greek subjects.

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