Uskoks and Licani, Croatian Costumes, Hand Colored Lithograph, 1842

An original antique lithograph with hand coloring, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). In the upper image a woman in a red cap and blue headscarf, a green jacket, white apron and olive skirt stands under a tree, a knife tucked in her belt. Beside her a mustached man in a green cap, white shirt, yellow waistcoat and magenta trousers holds a long musket upright, a dark jacket over his shoulders. In the lower image a man with long curled hair, a dark cloak and a white buttoned coat stands at left; at center a woman in a white headscarf, a yellow mantle over a blue jacket and a striped apron; and at right a mustached man in a wide brimmed hat, yellow waistcoat and full white trousers carries a musket over his shoulder and a pouch at his side. The sea, with sailing ships, opens behind them.

The top margin is lettered Tav. 105 at upper left, "EUROPA" at center and Tom. IV at upper right. The captions read "Uscoki" (Uskoks) and "Licani" (Licani, people of Lika).

The Uskoks were irregular soldiers of the Habsburg frontier against the Ottomans, centered on the Adriatic town of Senj. Licani are the inhabitants of Lika, the upland region of Croatia that lay within the Military Frontier.

With its sea view and armed figures, the plate is a good choice for collectors of Balkan and Adriatic subjects.

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