Decorated parchment ketubah, for the wedding of Eliyahu son of Gavriel Padovani and Gentila daughter of "the expert physician" David Nachmias. "S. Lucia near Conegliano" (Santa Lucia di Piave), Italy, 12th Tishrei 5486 [September 19, 1725].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Ketubah on large parchment sheet, with upper margins cut into a somewhat pointed arch. The text of the ketubah appears in the bottom half, in square letters, with signatures of witnesses below: David son of Shlomo Valensin and Yaakov son of Avraham Yeshurun (to the right) and the signature of the groom (to the left). Below the signatures appears a certification in Italian on translation of the ketubah (see below), issued in Venice on November 25, 1745, with the signature of the translator, "Moise qm. [quondam] Raffael Vitta Naso" (Moshe son of Refael Chai Naso) and his stamp, depicting a figure wrestling a lion.

The upper third of the ketubah is decorated with a large, gilt guilloche, illustrated with flowers and a pair of birds, above which is a (blank) medallion with a crown, the blessing "With an auspicious sign and good luck" and the verse "A woman of valor is the crown of her husband". The bottom two thirds contain the ketubah text, located within a golden arch bearing the verse "He who has found a wife has found good". The arch is supported by two massive pillars decorated with golden guilloches, with large Corinthian capitals, with flower vases set upon them. The design of this ketubah follows the traditions of design common in northern and central Italy, and ketubot with similar decorations, from the same period, are documented from Venice and other cities in the Veneto region.

The fascinating story of the bride, Gentila Nachmias, is documented in detail in documents housed in the Central Archives of the State (Italy). As described there, in 1740, Gentila's husband left her, traveling to England, and so she returned to her father's home. A year later her husband returned, and she became pregnant for a second time. The husband later traveled to Venice for an extended period with their eldest son. During this period, Gentila read a book by a Jewish apostate and decided to convert to Christianity (which she evidently did in June 1744). On May 14, 1744, at the age of 35, she fled with her children from her father's home in Santa Lucia, taking refuge under the bishop of Ceneda, who sent her children to Venice to convert. Gentila's father sued for the return of his grandchildren, but it is unclear what eventually happened to them.

Apparently, due to these events, the present ketubah was also marked as certified for translation to Italian in 1745. For further information, see: Giovanni e Silvia Tomasi, Ebrei nel Veneto orientale, Firenze: Giuntina, 2012, pp. 146, 228-229 (see also p. 146, note 573, mentioning the translator Moise Raffael Vitta Naso).

53X70 cm. Fair-good condition. Creases, stains and tears, professionally restored, affecting text and decorations. Fading of paint. Margins of ketubah may have been originally wider and were later trimmed. Signs of parchment processing visible on verso.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the only documented ketubah from Santa Lucia. This ketubah is also documented on the NLI ketubah site, listing 990003035470205171.

For similar ketubot from the Veneto region, see: Shalom Sabar, The Art of the Ketubbah, Vol. I. New York: Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, 2022, nos. 28-30, 36, 38.