A Magnificent Ketubbah from Venice, 1749

Celebrating the marriage of Solomon ben Jacob Fontanella of Reggio and Ricca bat David Sacci on Friday, 8 Elul 5509 (August 22, 1749).

This exquisitely decorated marriage contract records the wedding of members of two illustrious families. The document is lavishly decorated with a sophisticated program of design. At the top, the family emblems of the groom and bride are displayed within two oval plaques. Directly beneath the emblems, in a semicircular arch, the twelve signs of the zodiac are depicted within twelve roundels. These signs of the zodiac are a visual representation of the Hebrew words written in large script just above the text of the ketubbah: be-siman tov u-be-mazzal tov (with a good sign and with excellent fortune). The Hebrew word for a sign of the zodiac is mazzal, which also translates as luck, so the document opens with the wish that the stars and the signs of the zodiac may align and bring the new couple good fortune.

Within the archway are images of the three patriarchs: Abraham at top, holding in his hand the fire that he brought when he journeyed to offer Isaac as a sacrifice; the Binding of Isaac at right; and Jacob’s dream at left. Centered between the patriarchs is a love knot, a line with no beginning or end symbolizing the couples’ love. Framing the ketubbah on either side are representations of the five senses interspersed with vignettes from psalm 128, which is traditionally sung at the weddings of Italian Jews.

The most striking image on the document is a detailed depiction of the walled city of Jerusalem below the text of the ketubbah. At the center of the city is a representation of the Temple in the form of the Dome of the Rock. Placing an image of Jerusalem and the Temple so prominently within a wedding contract fulfills the obligation to “place Jerusalem about [one’s] chiefest joy” and remember the destruction of the Temple even at a time of gladness.

This elaborately illustrated ketubbah is a testimony to the splendor of the Jewish communities of Italy and the sophisticated visual culture they incorporated into their lives and into the observance of their religion.

Provenance

Sold Sotheby’s Tel Aviv, October 8, 1996, lot 256. Deaccessioned from the Israel Museum because it owned a duplicative example.

Physical Description

Ink and gouache on scalloped parchment (32 x 22 in.; 815 x 555 mm). Dampstaining, cockling, soiling, and smudging; tears and losses have been restored (see especially righthand edge and lower-right corner); text slightly faded in places. Mounted in a lavish gilt wooden architectural frame decorated with floral motifs (47 x 36 1/2 in.; 1190 x 930 mm), one of the motifs at lower right loose; not examined outside of the frame.

Literature

Iris Fishof, “‘Jerusalem above My Chief Joy’: Depictions of Jerusalem in Italian Ketubot,” Journal of Jewish Art 9 (1982): 61-75.

Shalom Sabar, The Art of the Ketubbah: Marriage Contracts from The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, vol. 1 (New York: The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 2022), 52-73.

Gabrielle Sed-Rajna, L’art juif: Orient et Occident (Paris: Arts et métiers graphiques, 1975).