Original 18th Century Judaic Wedding Plate XI Rare Copper Engraving, Bernard Picart (First English Edition Printed in London)

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Description

The selected region displays Plate XI: Wedding Ceremony among Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam (top) and Wedding Ceremony among German Jews … Read more The selected region displays Plate XI: Wedding Ceremony among Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam (top) and Wedding Ceremony among German Jews (bottom). It is a rare 18th-century copper engraving by the famous French artist and engraver Bernard Picart (1673–1733). This historic plate was created for the landmark multi-volume work ⁠Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Several Nations of the Known World), first published in Amsterdam starting in 1723.

Key Details About the PrintTop Panel: Nuptial Ceremony of the Portuguese Jews (Cérémonie Nuptiale des Juifs Portugais). It illustrates an indoor Sephardic wedding under a grand canopy, showcasing the groom breaking the glass.

Bottom Panel: Nuptial Ceremony of the German Jews (Cérémonie Nuptiale des Juifs Allemands). It depicts an outdoor Ashkenazi wedding where the couple stands together beneath a prayer shawl (tallit).

Bilingual Keys: The text below each illustration contains a guide written in both English and French explaining the figures and customs shown in the scenes.

This framed item features a copperplate engraving titled "Nuptial Ceremony of the Portuguese Jews" and "Nuptial Ceremony of the German Jews" by Bernard Picart, dated 1723.The print originates from the monumental 18th-century work "Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde". It depicts two distinct wedding rituals: a Portuguese Jewish ceremony under a canopy and a German Jewish ceremony held outdoors.The engraving is housed in a dark wooden frame with a burlap-textured mat.

The Creator: Bernard Picart (1673–1733)
Bernard Picart was an immensely talented French draftsperson and engraver. Born in Paris to a Calvinist family, he was forced to permanently relocate to the tolerant atmosphere of Amsterdam following the religious persecutions in France.In Amsterdam, Picart established a thriving workshop and became one of the most celebrated book illustrators of the 18th century. He possessed a deep interest in ethnographic details and cultural habits, which allowed him to accurately capture the fine nuances of fashion, architecture, and religious instruments.

The Publication: The Work That Changed Europe
This engraving was created for the masterwork ⁠Cérémonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde (Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Several Nations of the Known World).The Collaboration: Published in Amsterdam between 1723 and 1737, the project was a collaboration between Picart and the radical Hugenot publisher Jean-Frédéric Bernard.

The First Global Vision: Spanning multiple massive folio volumes and featuring over 260 intricately engraved plates, it is universally recognized by historians as the "first global vision of religion".The Enlightenment Impact: Published during the peak of the Enlightenment, the text and imagery sought to document worldwide religious practices (including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Indigenous American rituals) not as "heresy," but as interconnected human cultural practices. The work proved so popular it was translated into English, German, and Dutch.The Significance of Plate XI (The Jewish Ceremonies) Amsterdam housed a major, vibrant Jewish population. This specific print is monumental because it was among the very first times in European print history that Jewish rituals were presented in an empathetic, non-caricatured, and deeply analytical ethnographic manner.Picart purposely splits the plate to contrast the affluent, assimilated Sephardic (Portuguese) community indoor ceremony at the top, against the less-assimilated, working-class Ashkenazi (German) community outdoor ceremony at the bottom.

Frame 12in. x 17in. : The piece in this image features a highly desirable double-matting with a custom linen/hessian canvas border and a vintage carved dark wood frame. An aesthetic frame configuration like this raises the retail gallery value.

A Note for Collectors:

The pencil inscription “Judaica 1733” on the back provides a strong historical clue regarding the exact edition of this engraving [1]. Understanding the 1733 Date. The year 1733 marks a significant milestone for this specific artwork. While Bernard Picart’s initial French volumes began publication in Amsterdam in 1723 [1], 1733 was the precise year the first English edition (The Religious Ceremonies and Customs of the Several Nations of the Known World) was printed in London. The presence of the English text keys side-by-side with the French descriptions ("Nuptial Ceremony of the Portuguese Jews" / "Cérémonie Nuptiale des Juifs Portugais") matches the layout designed for that celebrated 1733 London release. Antique dealers, gallery curators, or past collectors frequently wrote pencil notes on the paper margins or the wooden backing boards to quickly catalog inventory. A note specifying "1733" indicates a previous expert identified this sheet as a first-edition page extracted from that early English folio publication.

Therefore, this print is likely an original 18th-century copperplate impression rather than a later 19th-century reproduction. Original 1733 English folio leaves are highly sought after by Judaica collectors because of the crispness of the original copper plate pressings from that era. See less