PNT-00670 > A princess of Cyprus, engraving, Nathaniel Sichel (1843-1907), 1889
The engraving portrays a woman dressed in the classical Greek costume, leaning against a Greek column and calling her a Princess of Cyprus. Her overall posture is sexually provocative.
There were no princesses in Cyprus in 1889 and none worth mentioning from the medieval period till the British occupation.
The scene and the woman depicted are imaginary but have an underlying connotation, about the Greekness of the island of Cyprus. Furthermore, it brings to mind the legend of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, whose birthplace is supposed to have been Cyprus.
Travellers always commented on the women of Cyprus being provocative in their dressing and lascivious in their manners.
The 'Sneak Peek' series is supported by OPAP (Cyprus).
