Selim in the Tragedy of Barbarossa, Georgian Stage Costume, Jefferys Print, 1757

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1757, colored by hand, lettered "Habit of Selim in the Tragedy of Barbarossa." Selim stands facing the viewer in a jeweled turban crowned with white and brown plumes, his curled hair falling beneath it. A voluminous white cloak bordered with dark fur hangs from his shoulders over a buttoned tunic and full breeches, both striped in gray. One hand is at his chest and the other rests on his hip beside a dagger at his waist. Soft buff boots topped with fur complete the costume.

The English title is engraved in script below the image: "Habit of Selim in the Tragedy of Barbarossa." Beneath it, in smaller italic letters, is the French caption "Selim dans la Tragedie de Barberosse", meaning "Selim in the tragedy of Barbarossa". The plate number 232 is engraved at lower right. "Barbarossa" and "Barberosse" are engraved with long s forms. No engraver or artist is named on the plate.

The plate comes from the second volume of Thomas Jefferys' A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Antient and Modern, published in London in 1757 by Jefferys, Geographer to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, in the Strand. The work has a parallel French title page, Recueil des Habillements de Différentes Nations, which is why each plate is captioned in both languages. The later plates of the volume form a series titled The Habits of the Principal Characters on the English Stage, recording how leading parts were dressed in the London theaters of the period. Barbarossa, a tragedy by John Brown set in Algiers, opened at Drury Lane in 1754; Selim is the young prince who returns in disguise to avenge his father. The costume is a good example of the oriental dress of the Georgian stage.

The pale, fur trimmed figure is an elegant picture, and it pairs naturally with Aletes and Tancred from the same series.

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