An Important Ketubbah from Teheran, 1870

1 leaf (33 x 16 in.; 838 x 406 mm). Ink, gouache and shell gold on paper.

Celebrating the wedding of Baba’i, the son of Ephraim ha-Levi, to Leah, the daughter of Eliezer Katz, on Friday 2 Tamuz, 5630 (=July 1, 1870)

This elaborately decorated ketubbah is ornamented with a richly colored floral design that amply fills the document. The vivid foliage is highlighted with gold and silver medallions inscribed with biblical verses: “He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord,” (Proverbs 18:22) and “And the city of Shushan rejoiced and was glad. The Jews had light and gladness, and joy and honor” (Esther 8:15-16). The non-representational imagery is characteristic of ketubbot created in lands under Islamic rule where Jewish artists adopted the dominant artistic aesthetic and refrained from incorporating figural imagery into their decorated ketubbot and megillot.