Women and a Lady of Florence with Venetian Women of the People, 1842

This is an original antique lithograph, hand colored, from the Galleria Universale di Tutti i Popoli del Mondo (Venice, Giuseppe Antonelli, 1842). The upper image shows three women outdoors with trees and a large building behind. At the left, seen from behind, a woman in a broad black hat with a red band and a blue dress banded in yellow carries a basket on her arm, a red and white checked cloth at her side and a brown fur muff under her arm. In the center a woman in a straw bonnet with red flowers, a pink gown and a long white embroidered apron holds a large fur muff. At the right a lady in a straw bonnet and pale blue dress with a long flounced white apron gathers her skirt. The lower image shows three Venetian women by the water. One with pins in her hair wears a pink jacket, blue skirt and white apron and carries a basket of bread; one in a straw hat spins with distaff and spindle; one in a white headscarf, green jacket and pink skirt carries grapes in a basket on her back.

The plate is lettered "Tav. 55" at the upper left, "ITALIA" in the center and "Tom. IV" at the upper right. The upper caption reads "Donne e Signora di Firenze" (women and a lady of Florence), and the lower caption reads "Veneziane del volgo" (Venetian women of the common people).

The distaff and spindle remained in everyday use among working women well into the nineteenth century, and the basket of bread and the grapes show the women about the business of the day.

The contrast between the Florentine and Venetian groups makes this a fine plate for a kitchen, a dining room or an Italian themed wall.

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