Russian hussar and soldier, circa 1810

A recent acquisition is a hand-colored Japanese woodblock print showing a hussar and a private soldier of the Russian army, circa 1810. The hussar is dressed in a blue dolman jacket decorated with gold braid on the chest, and a tall red hat decorated with a hackle; he holds a pistol in his right hand; the private wears a blue jacket, tall black hat, a rucksack and is armed with a rifle with a bayonet. A notation in the upper right corner reads “Russia. Europe”. It is possible that the print is based on a Russian original brought to Japan by the embassy of Nikolai Rezanov (1804). The latter was Russian ambassador to Japan and he landed at Nagasaki in October 1804. An alternative explanation is that the crew of his ship included representatives of the Russian army who were sketched by a local artist.