The following description was prepared by William Gross:
A Ketubah (Hebrew: כְּתוּבָּה ; "written thing"; pl. Ketubot) is a special type of Jewish prenuptial agreement. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. The content of the Ketubah is in essence a one-way contract that formalizes the various requirements by Halacha (Jewish law) of a Jewish husband vis à vis his wife. The Jewish husband takes upon himself in the Ketubah the obligation that he will provide to his wife three major things: clothing, food and conjugal relations, and also that he will pay her a pre-specified amount of cash in the case of a divorce. Thus the content of the Ketubah essentially dictates security and protection for the woman, and her rights in the marriage.
This document is signed and then given to the bride as her property. In Italy and most of the Islamic countries in which Jews resided, such a Ketubah was often decorated, a tradition originating with the Jews in Spain. Today, generally, printed Ketubot are used.
There is no other 18th-century decorated Karaite Ketubah recorded from Lithuania. This highly unusual document takes its motifs from a Galician source, as did most of Jewish art in Lithuania. These illustrations include the griffin and the unicorn, imaginary animals whose representation here has messianic implications.
As is typical of Karaite ketubbot, this contract mentions the name of the current ruler. In this case it is Augustus III (also known as Frederick/Friedrich Augustus II) who was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1734 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire from 1733 until 1763.
The wedding was celebrated on 17 Adar II 5510, which corresponds to March 25, 1750. This date did fell on a Wednesday, and not a Thursday, as the contract states.
Groom: Avraham ben Mordekhai ha-Dayyan
Bride: Shlomit bat Shmuel