A DECORATED KETUBBAH FROM ROME, 1800

A DECORATED KETUBBAH FROM ROME, 1800

Ink, gouache, and shell gold on parchment (30 1/2 x 18 1/2 in.; 775 x 470 mm); written in square Hebrew script in black ink on thirty-three lines; witness signatures below. Glazed and framed; not examined outside of the frame.

Celebrating the wedding of Shabbetai Gerson ben Moses Elijah Citoni and Mazzal Tov bat David Israel of Sienna on Wednesday, 4 Sivan 5560 (May 28, 1800).

This text of this ketubbah is set within a monumental archway, which alludes to the new home that the young couple is about to establish. Vibrantly painted flowers emerge from an ornamental pot at base and embellish the inner border beside the text. A decorative frame at the top and around the outer border of the document encloses Hebrew text written in oversized, ornamental square Hebrew letters, expressing good wishes for the couple and quoting celebratory verses from the book of Ruth (4:11-12):

“All the people at the gate and the elders answered, ‘[…] May God make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel! Prosper in Ephrathah and perpetuate your name in Bethlehem! And may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah—through the offspring which God will give you by this young woman.’”

The custom of creating decorated Jewish marriage contracts began in Italy in the early seventeenth century and continued for over three hundred years. With time, Rome became a center of Italian ketubbah decoration, and the present lot is a fine example of a decorated ketubbah from one of the most important Jewish communities in Italy.