Ketubah (Marriage Contract) from Siena, Italy, 1790

Siena

This is a marriage contract, manuscript, ink on vellum, dated 12 of Shevat, 5550 at Sienah (1790), 62 x 42 cm.

Bridegroom: Yedidyah Menaḥem ben Aharon Ḥayim Galiḳi.
Bride: Leʼah de-hot mitḳare Avigail Ḥaṿah Tamar bat ha-manoaḥ Avraham Barukh Ḥaviv.
Witnesses: Yedidyah ben Refaʼel Shelomoh Segal, Yitsḥaḳ ben Sheneʼur?.

The ketubah is elaborately illuminated with colorful vignettes and floral and geometric designs.

Women of Valor

The top of the ketubah is shaped in a triangle in which are contained benedictory statements for the bride and groom, verses from Proverbs 31:10-31 (a woman of valor…”), depictions of exemplary women in Italian dress, and depictions of putti, all surrounded by decorative elements.

On either side of the text are symbols of the zodiac, and at the bottom is a vignette
of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve

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