A Decorated Marriage Contract, Balkan: 1859

Ink and gouache on paper, (28½ x 20½ in.; 725 x 520 mm). Mounted in a wood frame.



Recording the marriage of David ha-Levi son of Moses ha-Levi to Rosa on Wednesday 10 Adar 5619 [= 16 March, 1859].

Ink and gouache on paper, (28½ x 20½ in.; 725 x 520 mm). Mounted in a wood frame. Recording the marriage of David Ha-Levi son of Moses Ha-Levi to Rosa on Wednesday 10 Adar 5619 [= 16 March, 1859].
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The upper panel ornamented with flowering vines features a central vase holding a spray of flowers. Below, set within three arches are the text of the ketubbah (at right) the text of the tenaim (at  left) and a listing of the dowry (titled "roll") in the center panel.  Although the name of the town on this ketubbah is difficult to decipher, the body of water mentioned in the text is Toona, the Turkish name for the Danube.  It is likely, therefore, that this ketubbah celebrates a marriage which took place in a town with a Sephardic population along the Danube, perhaps in Bulgaria or Romania.

Finely decorated, nineteenth-century ketubbot from this region are rare.

We would like to thank Prof. Shalom Sabar for his assistance in cataloging this item.