Obj. ID: 48892 Ketubbah, Isfahan, 1859
sub-set tree:
H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two lions
O | Ornamentation: | Foliate and floral ornaments | Floral motif
O | Ornamentation: | Main text framed
V | Vase | Vase with flowers
A | Astronomy | Sun
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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 largest number of existing Ketubot from Iran is from the city of Isfahan. This is an exceptionally large example from the middle of the 19th century. This period produced more finely-painted examples than the more common Ketubot from Isfahan from the last quarter of the 19th century and later
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)