Obj. ID: 48899
Sacred and Ritual Objects Ketubbah, Tetuan, 1852
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.
This special form of Ketubah, with its red and green color, its pair of birds and its special arabesque arch all combine to identify this object as from Tetuan. This form was used for almost all of the 19th century in Tetuan and into the 20th century as well. While almost all of the Ketubot from Morocco are created on paper, in Tetuan the document was written and decorated on parchment, as in this example. This wedding took place in Tetuan on Wednesday August 18, 1852 (3 Elul 5612). There are a great many Ketubot from this city surviving in collections both public and private.
Groom: Yitzhak ben Ya'akov ben Vidal ben Chaim ben Moshe ben Yosef ben Chaim Bibas
Bride: Dona bat David ben Levi ben David Kazis
sub-set tree:
C | Columns
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments | Floral motif
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two birds
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