Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) of David ben Shabettov and Serula bat Samuel

The ketubah (plural ketubot) is the standard marriage contract that Jewish law requires a groom to provide for his bride on their wedding day. It is intended to protect the woman by establishing the man’s financial obligations to her in case of divorce or widowhood and also outlines the bridal dowry, which rightfully belongs to her should the marriage dissolve. In addition to the financial clauses, the text of the ketubah outlines other obligations undertaken by the groom, including traditional conjugal rights such as food, clothing and shelter. The precise origin of the ketubah is uncertain but scholars suggest that it goes back to Talmudic times (70-500 AD) and seems to have been customary at least from the period of the Tannaim, the Jewish scholars in Palestine, in the early centuries of the first millennium AD.

Rabbinic law does not stipulate a specific language for the ketubah, but it was customarily written in Aramaic, which was the language understood by most Jewish people when the text was standardized. Aramaic is still used today, although most Jews no longer speak or understand it, but many have their ketubot written in Hebrew and a combination of other languages. The contract is basic to Jewish marriage regardless of geographic location and social status and traditionally couples were prohibited from living together without one. It is usually signed by two witnesses and then read aloud in Aramaic during the wedding ceremony.

The ketubah is handed to the bride for safekeeping and is often hung prominently in the home as a daily reminder of the married couple’s vows and responsibilities to each other. A tradition of illuminating and decorating ketubot evolved in many Jewish communities around the world and the styles, decorative programs, and shapes of ketubot reflected the artistic traditions of their local contexts. For example, illuminated ketubot made by artists residing in Islamic lands often reflected styles of illumination used in Qur’ans, tilework, embroidery and other forms of material culture of those regions.

This ketubah originates from the city of Thessaloniki (Saloniki), Greece, during the Ottoman period and its painted floral motifs in opaque watercolours and gold featuring stylised red tulips, yellow roses, carnations, and other floral sprays echo the designs used on Ottoman manuscripts and ceramics from Turkey and elsewhere in the Empire. The illumination is painted on paper, including a Hebrew inscription in gold with each word set in a rectangular panel across the top of two lobed arches which includes the Biblical phrase (Proverbs 18:22): Matsa isha matsa tov… (He who finds a wife, finds good and obtains the Lord’s favour).

The contract itself is written in Aramaic on parchment in the shape of two lobed arches and is signed with stylised monograms of three witnesses. This ketubah was made for the groom, David ben Shabettov and his bride, Serula bat Samuel, and is dated with the Hebrew calendar year as Friday 26 Adar 5557 to the Creation (i.e., 1799 AD) [deciphered by Prof. Shalom Sabar].