Obj. ID: 54576
  Ephemera  Wedding Poem, Mantua, circa 1725

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

The Hebrew wedding poem, composed by friends and family of the bridal couple, was an integral part of this popular genre among both Christians and Jews in Italy of the 17th and 18th centuries. The form usually began with an honorific statement praising the bridal couple and their families and expressing good wishes. The central section was the poem itself, specially composed for the occasion. The form was often either sonnets or poems of multiple stanzas with regular allusions to and printing emphasis for the names of the couple. The last section was that the salutation from and the signature of the author. While mostly found as printed documents, there are manuscript versions known as well. Both sorts exist in the Gross Family Collection.

This example is one of extensive text arranged in stanzas. Where the names of the bride and groom appear they are in large letters. As is often the custom on such pages, the name of the composer of the verses, Yeshayahu Bassan, is recorded in the lower left corner. The trumpeting angels depicted above were often used on wedding poem printed sheets as if the angel were announcing the coming betrothal.

Composed for the marriage of Isaac, son of Shabbtai Marini to Judith, daughter of Menachem of Italy.  The groom was a member of the inner circle of Rabbi Moses Chaim Luzzatto, who himself composed two poems for the occasion.  In addition, Luzzatto cites this poem in his book "Sefer Lesho Limmudim" (Mantua, 1727).

Groom:                             Yitzhak ben Shabbtai Marini

Bride:                                Judita bat Menachem Meitalia