Illuminated parchment ketubah, recording the marriage of the groom Yaakov son of Michael Cammeo with the bride Simcha daughter of Moshe Di Castro. Rome, Italy, 8th Adar II 5540 [March 15, 1780].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Ketubah written on a rectangular sheet of parchment, with the lower margin cut in an undulating, inverted arch shape, typical of ketubot from Rome. The ketubah text appears in the center in square script, with signatures of the witnesses in the margins: Yaakov Matzliach ben Yitzchak Di Cori and Yosef Baruch ben Mordechai Moshe HaCohen.

The ketubah is adorned with colorful floral illustrations and a pair of peacocks. At the top, a large cartouche adorned with fabric ribbons, surmounted by a crown. The cartouche contains two family coat of arms featuring upright lions (the right emblem presumably belonging to the groom’s family, the Di Castro family). Five allegorical illustrations appear in the upper and lower corners, as well as along the lower margin: the figures in the upper corners allude to the names of the bride and groom – the right figure, a woman holding a cornucopia and a flowering branch, accompanied by the verse "VeSimeach et ishto" ("and delight his wife"), represents the bride, Simcha. The left figure, a man encircled by a ring bearing zodiac symbols, accompanied by the verse "VeYaakov ish tam" ("Jacob was an innocent man"), represents the groom, Yaakov. The lower corner figures symbolize abundance and modesty: on the right, a figure holding a cornucopia and a bundle of wheat, with the inscription "Abbondanza" (abundance); on the left, a figure holding a branch with a bird perched on its hand, with the inscription "Castità" (chastity). The lower central illustration depicts a man and woman carrying a chain around their necks from which a heart hangs, accompanied by the verse "VeDavak be'ishto" ("and cleave to his wife"). Blessings from the Book of Ruth and Tehillim are integrated into the margins.

92X60.5 cm. Overall good condition.

For additional ketubot from the Di Castro family, see: René Braginsky Collection, Ketubah no. 44 (Rome, 1763); State Archives of Rome, Ms. 264/6 (Rome, 1879); and Antique Roman Ketubot (2019). For more ketubot from Rome, see: Shalom Sabar, The Art of the Ketubbah, Vol. I. New York: Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 2022, nos. 131-145, and also next lot in the present catalogue.