Handwritten Wedding Poem – Marriage of Cousins from the Recanati Family – Livorno, 18th Century – Magnificent ...

Handwritten Wedding Poem – Marriage of Cousins from the Recanati Family – Livorno, 18th Century – Magnificent Engraved Border

Poem in honor of the wedding of the groom Refael Nissim son of Yitzchak Chaim Recanati, to the bride Donia Tova daughter of Yehoshua Recanati. [Livorno, Italy], 13 Kislev 1798.
Ink on paper; hand-colored engraving.
The wedding poem is handwritten in semi-cursive and square Sephardic script, in the center of an elaborate, high-quality engraved border (unsigned). The border is comprised of flowers, fruit, leaves and various vegetal motifs; large acanthus leaves ending in human figures; mythological birds and animals. A band of musicians in Oriental garb are depicted above the border.
The text opens with a long, poetic introduction, extolling the virtues of the groom and his family. The bride is also mentioned. The 15-stanza wedding poem in honor of the groom, bride and their families, follows.
The poem is signed by the author – Lashon Marpe – R. Moshe Rachamim Aharon Piazza (of Livorno, d. 1808). Chupat Chatanim by R. Refael Meldola (Livorno 1797) features a foreword and poem he authored, and a different prayer he composed was printed under the title Lashon Marpe in Livorno, 1805. Other works and poems he authored are extant in manuscript.
The bride and groom were cousins. The fathers, Yitzchak Chaim Recanati and Yehoshua Recanati, were brothers, sons of the wealthy R. Eliezer Chai She'altiel Recanati of Livorno. In his preface to his book on laws of Yom Tov, printed in Livorno in 1794, R. Yom Tov Algazi mentions the brothers Yitzchak Chaim and Yehoshua Recanati as "the noblemen and leaders… wealthy men who pursued acts of charity and kindness" and their father "the prominent man… wealthy and elevated minister" R. Eliezer Chai Recanati, and thanks them for their assistance in printing his book.
There is a ketubah in the René Braginsky Collection recording the marriage of Yehoshua son of Yitzchak Chaim Recanati (presumably brother of the groom to whom the present poem was dedicated), and Esther Sarah daughter of Rafael Recanati. Their wedding took place in Livorno in 1746 (Braginsky Collection K101 / Nummer 47).

69X49 cm. Fair-good condition. Tears and defects, affecting text and illustrations, professionally restored. Stains. Open tears to borders, professionally restored.

Reference and exhibition:
* Here Comes the Bride. Dowry, Engagement and Wedding Gifts, by Yael Wiesel. Ashdod, 2016, p. 31 (Hebrew).
* Oltre il ghetto: dentro & fuori, exhibition held at the Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah, Ferrara. Milano, Silvana editoriale, 2020, p. 247, item no. 7 (illustrated).
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 034.011.102.