Decorated parchment ketubah, for the wedding of Yitzchak son of Yosef Ben Harosh and Rivkah daughter of Avraham Bovedi. Malta, 5th Shevat 5567 [14 January 1807].
Ink and paint on parchment.
Written on a rectangular sheet, with upper part cut into an arch. Ketubah text in the middle, in Sephardic semi-cursive script, with signatures of groom and witnesses beneath the text: Shlomo Ben Zimra, Yitzchak Baruch (?) and Yaakov Daninos. The ketubah text follows "the customs and stipulations of… the communities expelled from Spain…".
Frame decorations include a large structure with four massive marble pillars topped by an arch and dome. The dome at the upper third features a large illustration depicting Moses with the Tablets of the Covenant at Mount Sinai.
44X64.5 cm. Good condition. Some stains, only slightly affecting text. Fading of ink and paint, mainly to verses of blessing. Tear to bottom margins, professionally restored. Two slits cut out at the apex of the dome.
Reference: Encyclopedia Judaica, 1971, vol. 10, color plate no. 5 (illustrated).
The present ketubah is the only one known from Malta, and is documented on the NLI ketubah site, listing 990003035670205171.
