The Babylonian Marriage Market
The Babylonian Marriage Market is an 1875 painting by the British painter Edwin Long. It depicts a scene from Herodotus' Histories of young women being auctioned into marriage in the area then known as Babylon or Assyria. It received attention for its provocative depiction of women. Long's use of historical detail to make the painting engaging yet relatable has been highly regarded. The work was purchased by Thomas Holloway in 1882 and is owned by Royal Holloway, University of London.
The Babylonian Marriage Market
Ford Madox Brown's, The Dream of Sardanapalus, a contemporary example of Babylonian/Assyrian subject matter in painting
Detail from The Babylonian Marriage Market, showing the auctioning of the first bride. Her face is hidden to the painting's audience.
Detail highlighting the linear composition of the brides
Edwin Longsden Long was a British genre, history, biblical and portrait painter.
Queen Esther (1878)
"The Guard of the Palace," painted in 1887 - cairo "Egypt"[citation needed] - By Edwin Longsden
The Finding of Moses (1886)
The Babylonian Marriage Market (1875)