More Ketubbot with Islamic styles

The Jewish tradition of hiddur mitzvah calls for ceremonial objects such as the ketubah to be made as beautiful as possible thus making it a rich source of material not only on Jewish history and customs but the influences of local art. Over generations, various local customs found their way into the legal text of the ketubbah and ketubbah decorations reflected the Jewish art of each locality and period. As legal documents, ketubbot contain exact dates and place names allows their absolute identification with specific communities and periods.

For over 2000 years Jewish law has required that every husband present his wife, at the time of their marriage, with a marriage contract or ketubbah, guaranteeing the wife's financial rights in case of the husband's death or divorce.It was not written in the Hebrew language, but in Aramaic, the lingua franca of Jews at the time the first Ketubot became standardized.


Mavi Boncuk |

Ketubbah. Istanbul, Turkey, 1830 |Paper 64.8 x 37.8 cm.
The Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary

Ketubbah. Salonika, Greece, 1841| Paper 73 X 53 cm.
The National Archive of Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi, Jerusalem

Ketubbah. Vidin, Bulgaria, 1866 | Paper 81.5 x 56.4 cm.
Gross Family Collection, Tel-Aviv

Ketubbah. Istanbul, Turkey, 1857 | Paper 91 x 46 cm.
Gross Family Collection, Tel-Aviv

Afghan Ketubah, Herat, Afghanistan, 1889
The British Library Board

The fivefold element customarily used in Herat Jewish contracts was apparently borrowed from Muslim folk belief, where the number five possessed magic and protective qualities. Also standard here is the exterior frame with a lengthy inscription of good wishes to the couple.