About this sheet
Set of Three Antique Italian Women Folk Costume Engravings, circa 1850
Beautiful set of three original antique hand-colored engravings depicting women in traditional regional dress from different parts of Italy. Published in Paris circa 1850 as part of the series “Les peuples peints par leurs Costumes.”
The set comprises:
1. Jeune Femme de Polla (Salerne) – A young woman from Polla in the province of Salerno, southern Italy, wearing a particularly striking traditional costume with a dramatic red headdress, orange skirt and dark overskirt.
2. Femme d’Osilo – A woman from Osilo in Sardinia, shown in traditional regional dress with an ample red skirt, fitted bodice and distinctive head covering.
3. Jeune Femme de Nettuno (États Romains) – A young woman from Nettuno in the Papal States, elegantly depicted carrying flowers and wearing a richly colored red costume with an elaborate regional headdress.
Together the three engravings provide an attractive survey of mid-19th-century Italian regional costume, representing southern Italy, Sardinia and the Papal States. The differences in headdress, bodice, skirt and accessories illustrate the remarkable variety of local dress that existed across Italy before national unification.
The strong reds and contrasting dark blue and black elements make these three particularly decorative examples from the series. Their matching format and female subjects also make them very effective displayed together as a triptych.
SUBJECT: Italy, Italian Women, Polla, Salerno, Sardinia, Osilo, Nettuno, Papal States, Traditional Costume, Folk Dress, Regional Costume, Ethnography
DATE: Circa 1850
ORIGIN: Paris, France
MEDIUM: Hand-colored engravings on paper
STYLE: Romantic
CONDITION: Good antique condition with visible age-related foxing, spotting and toning, varying between the sheets. Some foxing is more pronounced in the margins. Minor marginal wear and traces from former binding are present. Please study the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description.
Original antique prints, not modern reproductions.
DIMENSIONS: Three individual sheets; dimensions available on request.
SOLD: As a set of three, unframed. Any framed or interior images shown are for presentation and inspiration only.
KEYWORDS: Antique Italian costume prints, Italian women, women of Italy, Italian folk costume, traditional Italian dress, Polla Salerno, Jeune Femme de Polla, Salerno costume, Sardinia costume, Sardinian woman, Osilo Sardinia, Femme d’Osilo, Nettuno Italy, Jeune Femme de Nettuno, Papal States, États Romains, Italian regional costume, Italian folk dress, European costume prints, ethnographic prints, ethnography, hand-colored engravings, hand-colored prints, 19th century prints, circa 1850, Romantic period, historical costume, fashion history, Italian fashion, Italy history, Sardinia history, decorative antique prints, female costume studies, gallery wall, set of three antique prints.
