A Muslim Wedding Procession at Cairo, Antique Niebuhr Print, 1776

This is an original antique copper engraving from 1776, plate XXVIII of volume 1 of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie. The caption reads, in Dutch and then in French, Bruilofts-plegtigheden der Mohammedaanen te Káhira. and Procession Nuptiale des Mahométans à Káhira., meaning "Wedding Ceremonies of the Muslims at Cairo" and "Wedding Procession of the Muslims at Cairo".

The procession moves along a path beneath a wide, cloudy sky, with a bank of trees and rock at the left. At the center, lettered A, a canopy on tall poles is carried over a figure covered from head to foot in a white veil, attended by veiled women. In front of the canopy a woman lettered B beats a round frame drum, another figure lettered B reaches toward the canopy, and a man lettered E raises a twisted cloth above his head. At the left a man lettered F, seen from behind, holds a tall pole carrying a frame hung with rings of small lights, beside a second pole topped by a burning torch, and a second figure lettered F reclines on the ground. At the right, lettered C, a tall veiled figure stands with a smaller veiled figure beside it, and further back, lettered D, a group of men in turbans, one with a drum and one on horseback, follows the canopy. The letters key the figures to Niebuhr's text.

Under the lower left corner of the image is lettered "Baurenfeind. del," and under the lower right the engraver's credit "C. Brouwer" with fec. The plate number Tab: XXVIII. is engraved at the upper right.

The sheet comes from the first volume of Carsten Niebuhr's Voyage en Arabie & en d'autres Pays circonvoisins, the Tome Premier, translated from the German and issued at Amsterdam by S. J. Baalde and at Utrecht by J. van Schoonhoven and Comp., with the date MDCCLXXVI on its title page. Niebuhr (1733 to 1815) was a German born surveyor in Danish service and the only member of the Danish expedition to Arabia (1761 to 1767), sent by King Frederick V of Denmark, to return alive. The expedition's artist, Georg Wilhelm Baurenfeind, died at sea in 1763.

Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the bottom, right and top edges. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left corner. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the left.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.