Antique Print of Wedding and Divorce Customs in Canada by B. Picart, 1723

1723 · Views & Engravings

Antique Print of Wedding and Divorce Customs in Canada by B. Picart, 1723

Name: Antique Print of Wedding and Divorce Customs in Canada by B. Picart, 1723
Brand: Theodor de Bry
SKU: BGI-01188
Price: 160 USD
Availability: InStock

$160

€145 · dollar price at today's exchange rate

Buy now Ask a question

Shipping to the United States: $51 standard, $73 express, insured and tracked.

Date: 1723
Maker: Theodor de Bry
Kind: Views & Engravings
Size: 35.4 × 24.2 cm (13.9 × 9.5 in)
Condition: Good. Please study image carefully.
Period: Colonial America
Places: Canada
Reference: BGI-01188

What the condition grades mean

Excellent: Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good: Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good: Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair: Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.

Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.

Guaranteed original. This is an original of the period stated, not a later reproduction or print-on-demand copy. If it is ever shown to be otherwise, we refund you in full.

Shipping to the United States. Sent from our gallery in Langweer, the Netherlands, flat between boards or rolled in a tube, and fully insured. Delivery and import charges.

About this piece

Two scenes of Canadian Indian marriage customs on one sheet, an engraving by Bernard Picart dated 1723 in the listing, from the Dutch edition (1727-1738) of "Naaukeurige beschryving der godtsdienst-plichten, kerk-zeden en gewoontens van alle volkeren der waereldt", published at Amsterdam. The sheet is lettered in French and credited "B. Picart del." at the lower left.

The upper scene is captioned "Ceremonie nuptiale du Canada". In a bark-walled lodge, a man and a woman face each other at the center of a patterned mat while elders sit watching along both sides. The lower scene is "Maniere dont les peuples du Canada font le divorce", where a family group gathers around a fire, one man stands pointing, and children, women and elders sit and stand about the room.

The scenes belong to Picart's survey of the religious ceremonies and customs of all nations, which in its French edition appeared between 1721 and 1725 and was the most elaborate history of world religion published up to that time. Picart and others adapted the plates from earlier sources, including de Bry, so the images are European interpretations of Native customs rather than eyewitness records.

★