Soldat Albanois, plate 78 from "Recueil de cent estampes représentent differentes nations du Levant" 1714 - 1715

"Soldat Albanois" is an etching by Jean-Baptiste Vanmour from his series "Recueil de cent estampes représentant differentes nations du Levant." The print depicts a soldier from Albania, a region in southeastern Europe, who is standing in profile, holding a rifle in his right hand, and a saber in his left. Vanmour was a French painter and draughtsman who traveled to Constantinople in 1704 and spent several years in the Ottoman Empire, recording the people and landscapes of the Levant. This print is a valuable document of the costumes, weapons, and social life of the Ottoman Empire during the early 18th century. The print is part of a larger collection of one hundred etchings that document the ethnic diversity and cultural richness of the Ottoman Empire.