This is fine allegorical mezzotint engraving in my Iconic Edinburgh online store. It features the subject of War and Peace.
UPDATE: This image of Peace pairs to another featuring Plenty. They were both published by P. Stampa in 1779.
The mezzotint is unsigned - but it seems that a previous owner has taken the print into the Manchester City Art Gallery for opinion and the curator there has suggested that this is a 1770s mezzotint after a painting by Barrington-Jones.
It is in fine antique condition - and it is an older frame - with vintage window mounts with decorative wash border as photographed.
The print would have originally been printed in just black tones - and the colouring has been added to make it look more painterly. The hand-colouring dates to the time of publication and has not been added at a later date.
The image shows in the centre a female figure depicting Peace. She has a spade and is about to plant a laurel branch which she holds in her hand. She wears a victors wreath. In the background is a forge of an ironwork - they are making canons. There are more canons and broken implements of war in the foreground. There are also two doves of peace in the design. There are peacetime scenes in the distance - contented farm animals and a man ploughing
A fine Georgian original print and it is certainly a fabulous decorator's piece.
It will be sent to you with Parcelforce48 - this will cost £10 in the UK and applied at checkout.
THE TECHNICAL STUFF:
Mezzotint engravings were popular prints produced in the 18th century and were intricate and rather time-consuming to produce. The printmaking process starts by roughening a copper printing plate with a rocker (a tool with varying numbers of teeth) to give it a rough burr all over the plate. This plate will print a rich, velvety black when completely roughened.
To achieve the greys and lights up to white tones, the burr is removed with a scraper or flattened with a burnisher until the required tone is achieved. It is a lengthy process but the tonal range that can be achieved is what gives mezzotint its softness and it is particularly suited to dramatic effects of light and dark (chiaroscuro).
Very high pressures are required to print mezzotint properly and this means that plates wear quickly. Editions of prints are therefore small as the quality of the blacks and greys diminishes quite quickly due to press wear.