Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1854
Sheet size
27.2 × 18 cm (10.7 × 7.1 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14120-16
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
Condition report: Light foxing and toning in the margins, consistent with age. Colors remain strong and well-preserved. Plate mark visible. Wide margins intact and paper stable.
About this sheet
A Mexican woman in festive dress, a hand-colored lithograph from the Album des Voyages Anciens et Modernes, published in 1854 by Martial Ardant Frères. The plate is lettered "Mexico" with the word "Dame" beneath it, and is set within a double-ruled border on wide cream margins.
The standing figure wears a fitted green bodice with puffed sleeves, a long dark skirt trimmed with a golden band and a scalloped hem, and a bright apron decorated with scrolling floral ornament in red, blue and yellow. A white mantilla with gold trim and small dots is draped over her hair and falls behind her shoulders, and she wears a pearl necklace, a pink flower in her hair, white stockings and red shoes. She stands on a small patch of ground without any background scene.
Plates of this kind presented the costume of different nations to French readers of travel literature in the mid-19th century. The lettering marks this one as a lady of Mexico, and the mantilla shows the Spanish tradition carried into Mexican dress.
