Ketubah with a Depiction of Jerusalem

Artist Unknown

1732

Page of Aramaic text surrounded by many images and decorations, including zodiac symbols, scenes of figures and animals, cherubs, Hebrew words around margins, and vines and flowers.
This ketubah (marriage contract) from Padua, Italy, marks the marriage of Samuel ben Gerson ha-Kohen me-ha-ḥazanim (“of the cantors,” or Cantarini) and Colomba bat David Aziz. The groom was a physician. The lavishly decorated ketubah includes a scene of Jerusalem (top center) with a row of signs of the zodiac above it and biblical scenes framing the text.

Credits

Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. Purchased through the gift of Bambi and Roger Felberbaum, New York, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. William Olden.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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