A Decorated Marriage Contract, Conegliano, Italy: 1729

Estimate

25,000 - 35,000 USD

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Description

1 broadsheet (25 ½ x 18 in.; 645 X 460 mm). Ink, gouache, and gold paint on parchment; matted and mounted in a gilt-wood frame. Not examined outside the frame.

Catalogue Note

Recording the marriage of Eliezer Fano to Sarah, daughter of Jacob Grassini on Friday, 10 Tevet, 5490 [=30 December, 1729]

This rare decorated ketubbah celebrates a marriage in Conegliano, a small town located 40 miles north of Venice. The decorative motifs include a pair of twisted columns which flank the text and symbolically represent a passageway for the wedded couple — from their past lives to their newly sanctified union. The pillars are topped by large gilt vases from which spring colorful flowers; additional floral motifs adorn the borders of the document. The empty shield was likely intended for the family coat of arms. At top, a banner bears the Hebrew blessing "With a good omen and superior fortune."

Few ketubbot survive from Conegliano. This document also provides interesting evidence of a widespread custom among Italian Jews — the reuse of decorative ketubbah borders, usually by descendants of the original couple. In this marriage contract, the central section was cut out and replaced with a newer text affixed from the rear, thereby allowing a later generation to enjoy the splendid Italian artwork.