Decorated paper ketubah, for the marriage of the groom Yehuda son of Isaac and the bride Hannah daughter of Jacob. Herat (Afghanistan), 28 Kislev 5651 [10 December 1890].
Ink and color on paper.
Written on a rectangular paper sheet. The upper half features inscribed blessings set within pointed arches and rectangular frames; the lower half contains the ketubah text (in square script), and beneath it, within a rectangular frame, the signatures of the witnesses: Samuel son of Benjamin, Mordechai son of Abraham, and Samuel son of Elijah.
The ketubah is richly decorated with vegetal arabesque patterns characteristic of Islamic art and adorned with gold ornamentation.
70X46 cm. Fair condition. Old folding marks and numerous tears, some open, professionally restored. Stains and old dampstains, affecting text and decorations. Apparently reused: an earlier decorated ketubah form was employed, with several sections of the 1890 ketubah pasted onto it.
This ketubah is also documented in the National Library of Israel ketubot database, no. 990003035450205171.
