Bride-show

The bride-show (Greek: δείχνουν οι νύφες, romanized: deichnoun hoi nyphes; Russian: смотр невест, romanized: smotr nevest; Chinese: 后妃選納) was a custom of Byzantine emperors and Russian tsars to choose a wife from among the most beautiful maidens of the country.

Irene of Athens was likely chosen for Leo IV the Khazar by this method, though it has not been confirmed.

The first recorded bridal show in Byzantine was however the one in 788, in which Maria of Amnia was selected for emperor Constantine.

During the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), daughters of the elite families were summoned to the imperial palace prior to marriage for inspection, and selected by the emperor to become his empress, secondary imperial consorts or concubines before the rest of them were released and allowed to marry.

The first time this method was securely recorded was in 1505, when Solomoniya Saburova was selected for Vasily III this way.

Modern representation of a Byzantine bride-show, with Theophilos choosing Theodora to be his empress
1882 painting of Tsar Alexis of Russia choosing his bride in 1648. Painting by Grigory Sedov .
Painting from Nikolai Petrovich Petrov in 1861, the scene portrays the old tradition of the bride-show which became common in Muscovite Russia through close cultural exchange with the Byzantine Empire . Other elements of Russian culture are also recognizable in the picture such as Russian icons , Balalaika , Rushnik and Russian folk clothes .