This beautiful copperplate engraving, made by the renowned cartographer and engraver Thomas Jefferys, provides an insight into the social stratification of Wallachia during the mid-18th century (current-day Romania).In his engraving titled "Habit of a Gentleman of Wallachia," the gentleman depicted belongs to the upper echelon of the Boyars, a class that boasts the unique combination of Levantine refinement and Balkan culture. Wearing a voluminous caftan adorned with fur and a special kind of headpiece called a "kalpak," the gentleman showcases the features of the "Phanariotes," an era marked by the domination of the fashion trends of the Ottoman Sublime Porte of Constantinople over Wallachian attire.
