Img. ID: 493636
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.
The decorative scheme of manuscript material from Kurdistan is of a pattern seen through only in Ketubot but in piyyutim manuscripts as well, as demonstrated by three examples in the Gross Family Collection. The charming, attractive flowers and birds rendered in a highly stylized manner are common to all of them, as is the use of hollow letters for inscriptions. This is a highly unusual contract since it details the enactment of the Yibbum (Levirate marriage), the marriage of a widow to her brother-in-law as prescribed by Jewish law. The date of the marriage was the 7 February
Groom: Naftali ben
Bride: Shainhan bat Rafael