TWO DECORATED KETUBBOT FROM TEHRAN, 1867 AND 1870

TWO DECORATED KETUBBOT FROM TEHRAN, 1867 AND 1870

1. Celebrating the wedding of Ephraim ben Joseph and Toti bat Hakim Ezekiel on Thursday, 1 Tammuz 5627 (July 4, 1867). Ink and gouache on paper (41 5/8 x 26 in.; 1060 x 660 mm). Creased with losses along fold lines and to upper-right text border, as well as two small cracks and slight staining. Glazed and framed; not examined outside of the frame.

2. Celebrating the wedding of Abraham ben Mordechai and Zulekha bat Arzani on Thursday, 8 Tammuz 5630 (July 7, 1870). Ink and gouache on paper (38 x 19 3/4 in.; 970 x 502 mm). Creased with minor losses and chipping of paint along fold lines; slight soiling to borders. Glazed and framed; not examined outside of the frame.

These ketubbot are elaborately ornamented with richly colored floral designs that amply fill the documents. This non-representational decorative program is characteristic of marriage contracts created in lands under Islamic cultural influence, where Jewish artists adopted the dominant aesthetic and refrained from incorporating figural imagery into their ketubbot and megillot. Tehran was one of the most important centers of ketubbah decoration in the Middle East, and it is here that a distinctive style emerged wherein a series of text frames is surmounted by an enlarged ornamental panel.