An Armenian bride in wedding dress, 1768

The engraving “An Armenian Girl Dress’d for her Marriage Ceremony” was made by R. Ranker after a drawing by Franz Smith and was published in July 1768. According to the inscription, it was engraved from the collection of Lord Baltimore. It shows an Armenian bride in the traditional wedding costume of the 18th century. The wedding costume was formerly a woman’s most precious garment, worn on special occasions and passed down from generation to generation.

The girl sits cross-legged on a sofa. On her head is a small ornate headdress with a white veil falling to her shoulders; she wears strings of pearls around her neck and a wide-sleeved, fur-trimmed outer robe. There is a window on the left and a patterned curtain behind.