Guardias de la Persona del Rey, Spanish Royal Guard Cavalry, Lithograph, 1861
€ 335
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1861
Mapmaker / artist
Villegas (draftsman and lithographer)
Publisher
Lit. Militar, S. Bernardino 7, Madrid
Technique
Lithograph
Coloring
Hand colored
Sheet size
35 × 45 cm (13.8 × 17.7 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14341-5
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Good condition for its age. Mounted on a cloth covered board. Light toning; a small pale area of surface rubbing in the sky at the upper left of the image. Please review the images for further condition details.
About this sheet
Two mounted guardsmen of the Spanish royal household face one another across an open, sandy plain in this hand colored lithograph lettered "Guardias de la Persona del Rey", the guards of the person of the King. The plate is signed in the stone by Villegas and lettered in the lower margin "Villegas dibujó y litografió" (drawn and lithographed by Villegas) and "Lit. Militar S. Bernardino 7. Madrid", the military lithographic press in the Calle de San Bernardino in Madrid.
The guardsman at left sits a dappled gray horse at a walk. He wears a crested helmet with a tall blue plume, a dark blue coatee with a scarlet front laced in silver, silver shoulder cords and a crossbelt, pale blue trousers and white gauntlets, and he carries his saber at the slope. His companion at right rides a dark gray horse that steps forward with a raised foreleg; he wears a tall black bearskin cap with a white plume, a scarlet and blue coat, white breeches and high black jackboots. Both horses carry dark blue shabracks edged in silver.
The plate belongs to the Album de la Caballería Española, the illustrated history of the Spanish cavalry compiled by the Conde de Clonard, Serafín María de Sotto, and printed by the Litografía Militar in Madrid in 1861. The album traces the mounted arm of Spain through successive reigns in a long series of uniform plates, each showing two or more riders in the dress of a particular regiment or guard. The drawing is precise in the details of dress and harness, and the coloring is laid on by hand over the printed lithograph in clear blues, scarlets and silvers.
Spanish uniform plates of this quality are much less often seen than their French and German counterparts, and they are sought by collectors of military costume, equestrian subjects and the history of Spain. A single plate makes a strong picture for a study or library, and several from the album hang well together.
This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.
