Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Yaakov son of Yosef, to the bride Miriam daughter of Shmuel. Yazd, Iran, 24 Kislev 1800.
Ink and paint on paper.
Ketubah decorated with rich, colorful illustrations, inspired by Islamic manuscript ornamentation in general, and Persian art in particular. One of the earliest known ketubot from Yazd, and perhaps even the earliest. The text of the ketubah occupies the center of the leaf; each line of text aligned at the top to a dark red, double line. Decorative border of repetitive floral and foliate motifs, containing stylized medallions: five medallions with rich, delicate illustrations of flowers, birds and a cypress tree in the upper margin, and eight empty medallions in the lower margin. Addition in Judeo-Persian (in Hebrew characters) at the foot of the ketubah, signed by eight witnesses.

61.5X50 cm. Fair condition. Folding marks, creases and stains. Tears, affecting text and ornaments, partially professionally restored.

Reference and exhibitions:
* Shushan Haggadah: Persian Jewry. Lod, Matan, [2007], pp. 74-75, 78-79 (Hebrew).
* Light and Shadows: the Story of Iran and the Jews, by Hagai Segev and Orit Engelberg Baram. Tel Aviv, Beit Hatfutsot, 2010, p. 109 (Hebrew).
* Light and Shadows: the Story of Iranian Jews, edited by David Yeroushalmi. Los Angeles, Fowler Museum at UCLA / Tel Aviv, Beit Hatfutsot, 2012, p. 75.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.011.027.
The ketubah is documented on the NLI website, and on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 45777.