Ketubah (Amsterdam)

Shalom Italia

1648

Page of Aramaic text with illustration of pair of hands clasped at top and illustrated vignettes along sides of text depicting wedding scenes, joined by vines and flowers.
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Creator Bio

Shalom Italia

1619–1655
Engraver, etcher, and draftsman Shalom Italia was, as his name indicates, from Italy, where his family worked in the Mantua printing industry. However, probably attracted by the opportunities in the growing metropolis, he made his way to Amsterdam by 1641. Among Shalom Italia’s works are illustrated ketubot (marriage contracts), book illustrations, and portraits of the community’s leading figures, such as Menasseh Ben Israel, who was the founder of Amsterdam’s first Hebrew printing press and an advocate for the readmission of Jews to England.

Related Guide

Early Modern Visual and Material Culture

1500–1750

Early modern Jewish visual culture flourished, with illuminated manuscripts, ornate synagogues, and portraiture alongside increasing non-Jewish interest in Jewish customs and greater Jewish self-representation.

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