Original Antique Japanese Wedding Ceremony, Hand-Colored Ferrario Print, 1815

This is an original hand colored copper engraving, dated 1815, from Giulio Ferrario's Le Costume Ancien et Moderne (ancient and modern costume), showing a Japanese wedding ceremony. The plate has no engraved title or caption.

On a raised terrace stands a round open pavilion of slender columns under a golden domed roof with a tall finial. Inside, a dark figure with outstretched arms sits on a pedestal. Before it a veiled woman in white and a man in a pink robe hold slender rods toward each other, with a man in white vestments and a cap between them. Attendants in long robes stand at the left beneath two square canopies hung from curved poles, and small flames burn on posts around the terrace. At the right a small roofed frame hangs three gongs, struck by a standing man with a mallet, while seated musicians play a long instrument. A flight of steps leads down from the terrace past a stone pillar hung with beads. In the foreground at the left a fire of logs burns with heavy smoke: a woman holds a spinning frame over her head, another holds up a distaff, one kneels to put a framed object into the flames, and two more bring a long bundle and a basket.

The plate number "83." is engraved at the upper right above the border, and the engraver signed below the border at the lower left: "A. Rancati f." A small round blind stamp is pressed at the lower right corner of the plate mark, and an oval blind stamp sits in the lower left margin.

The plate comes from Le Costume Ancien et Moderne by Giulio Ferrario (1767 to 1847), a Milanese scholar and publisher. The work was a multi-volume illustrated survey of the customs of the peoples of the world, issued in parts in Italian and in French. The part wrapper issued with these plates closes with the imprint "MILAN, DE L'IMPRIMERIE DE L'EDITEUR, MDCCCXV" (Milan, from the publisher's press, 1815).

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. Foxing over much of the margin. Slight wear at the bottom left, bottom right and top left corners.

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