Habit of a Tartarian Woman of Schouvache

by Thomas Jefferys

This exquisite copperplate engraving is taken from Thomas Jefferys’ “A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations,” which appeared in 1757. It provides a unique insight into the traditional costumes worn by the Schouvache (Chuvash), who lived in the region of Tartary, as seen by Europeans in the eighteenth century.

The print depicts an elegantly dressed female figure with a remarkable Schouvache headdress (a cone-shaped headwear studded with coins and beads) and a tunic richly decorated with embroidery. The publication of Jefferys was revolutionary for its era in trying to create an artistic collection of the "costumes" of the world.