Tinsel print, hand-painted, circa early 19th century

This print shows a man clad in a short tunic standing between two children; they are all fighting a pair of large snakes. Although there is no caption to the scene, a similar print in the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum is dubbed 'Monsr. Martin combating with the boa constrictor'. The scene is clearly referencing the classical myth of Laocoon, a Trojan priest of Apollo, and his sons struggling against two carnivorous snakes. The monstrous reptiles were sent by Neptune as divine punishment for Laocoon for trying to warn his fellow Trojans against accepting the fateful horse.  

Framed. 
37.5 X 42.5 cm.

Fabric swatch: Bloom Lapis by Brook Perdigon