Obj. ID: 45034
Hebrew Illuminated Manuscripts Ketubah, Isfahan, 1887
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
Bride: Sarah bat Eliyahu
Groom: Yosef ben Shmuel
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.
Many Persian Ketubot are stunningly beautiful, and are richly ornamented with images of birds and gardens in bloom. Beginning in the 19th century, Ketubah illustrators in Isfahan replaced some of the floral motifs with the symbol of the royal crown, featuring a lion standing before a rising sun. This symbol was used on other Jewish and Muslim objects as well.
This example is a nicely painted type which became quite standard in the latter part of the 19th century. The contract is unusual in being between a divorcée and a widower. There is also an addition to the Ketubah written above the signatures of the witness, written in the Judeo-Persian language. The date of the marriage was August 30, 1887 (10 Elul 5647). This Ketubah was formerly in the Leo and Lillian Gross Collection in the United States.
sub-set tree:
T | Tree
A | Astronomy | Sun
H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two birds
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Sabar, Shalom, “The Illustrated Ketubbah in Iran,” in Haim Saadoun, ed., Jewish Communities in the East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century: Iran (Jerusalem: Ministry of Education and Ben-Zvi Institute, 2006), 187-194 (Hebrew), https://www.academia.edu/37491283/Shalom_Sabar_The_Illustrated_Ketubbah_in_Iran_in_Haim_Saadoun_ed_Jewish_Communities_in_the_East_in_the_Nineteenth_and_Twentieth_Century_Iran_Jerusalem_Ministry_of_Education_and_Ben_Zvi_Institute_2006_187_194_Hebrew_ (accessed June 11, 2023)