The Muezzin Calling to Prayer and Women of Smyrna and Salonica, 1842

This original antique lithograph, colored by hand, comes from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image is divided in two: at left a tall minaret with a carved balcony rises above blue domes, a tiny figure calling from the balcony; at right the same figure is shown full length, a bearded man in a white turban around a red cap, a long green robe over a blue gown and a striped sash, his hands raised to his ears. The lower image shows two women standing in a garden by a low wooden fence: one in a purple striped robe with a yellow headscarf and a green shawl trailing a yellow sash, the other in a green robe with a purple striped veil edged in yellow, both in yellow slippers.

The top margin is lettered "Tav. 122" at left, "TURCHIA EUROPEA" in the center and "Tom. IV" at right. The upper caption reads "Il Muzzin che annunzia l'ozann" (The muezzin announcing the call to prayer), and the lower one "Europee, di Smirne, e Salonicchio" (European women, of Smyrna and of Salonica).

The muezzin calls the faithful to the five daily prayers from the balcony of a minaret, traditionally with his hands raised to his ears. Smyrna is today's Izmir on the Aegean coast of Turkey, and Salonica is today's Thessaloniki in northern Greece; both were Ottoman port cities with mixed populations in the nineteenth century.

The tall minaret and the strong greens and purples make this an appealing plate for a collection of Ottoman subjects.

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