Venice Engraving - Lot 249

Venice Engraving [MARINE] Antique engraving titled "Solemnité du bucentaure qui se célèbre à Venise le jour de l'Ascension" ["Solennità del Bucintoro che si celebra a Venezia il giorno dell'Ascensione" (Google translation)] from "Histoire du gouvernement de Venise, avec des notes historiques et politiques" by Sieur Amelot de la Houssaye. Engraving size 40.5x31 cm; overall size 51x41 cm. Under passe-partout, anodized metal rod and glass. The Solemnity of the Bucentaurus features a procession of boats on the doge's barge to celebrate the annual "Wedding of the Sea" ceremony performed every year on Ascension Day since the Middle Ages. The ritual symbolically married Venice to the Adriatic Sea to celebrate Venetian maritime power. Known in Italian as the Bucintoro, this large rowing boat flies the Venetian flag, while the other boats are gondolas of various sizes carrying dignitaries.