Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Avraham son of R. Meir and the bride Feigele daughter of R. David Kohen. Cochin (present day: Kochi), India, 3 Adar 1790.
Ink and paint on paper.
Particularly elaborate and splendid ketubah, with gilt decorations and delicate floral illustrations, inspired by Islamic art. The upper two pointed arches contain verses of blessings, while the lower arch contains the text of the ketubah and the witnesses' signatures: Avraham Rahabi, Moshe Tobi, and an additional signature (difficult to decipher). The borders framing the ketubah text and arches are colored in deep red (and occasionally also in blue), which together with the gold decorations impart to this ketubah its glorious splendor.
On the verso of the ketubah, inscription (penciled) handwritten by a British missionary (of Jewish descent) Joseph Wolff (1795-1862), with a dedication addressed to his friend, the British diplomat and writer John Hookham Frere (1769-1846). Wolff, an adventurous missionary who made many trips around the world, refers to the present document as a "Prayer of the Jews of Cochin in the Malabar" (the Jews of Cochin are also known as the Jews of Malabar, after the Malabar coast where Cochin is located).
Joseph Wolff travelled to the Asian continent in 1827-1834, and in 1833, he reported to Frere in a brief letter that he was in Malabar (see: John Hookham Frere and his friends, by Gabrielle Festing, London, 1899, p. 290). He presumably purchased this ketubah on that occasion.
One of the earliest known ketubot from Cochin, and among the most splendid of them.

55X43 cm. Overall good condition. Folding marks and creases, slightly affecting ornaments and text. Some stains. Mounted for preservation; some paper remnants on verso.

Reference and exhibitions:
* Mechira Pumbit, vol. 36, 2003, p. 23 (Hebrew).
* Moreshet, Zionut VeDemokratia, by Yoel Rappel. Tel Aviv, Miskal, 2003, p. 39 (Hebrew).
* The Jews of India. Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 1995-1996, p. 177.
* Reise an kein Ende der Welt. Vienna, Jüdisches Museum Wien, 2001, pp. 68-69.
* Only on Paper, Six Centuries of Judaica from the Gross Family Collection. Chicago, Columbia College, 2005.
Provenance:
* Purchased in Cochin, by Joseph Wolff, ca. 1833.
* Collection of John Hookham Frere (1769-1846).
* Private collection, England.
* Purchased at auction in England, ca. 1988.
* The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.011.028.
The ketubah is documented on the NLI website, and on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 45778.
The ketubah was also illustrated in the Passover Haggadah – Haggadah de Pessah, En hommage aux Juifs d'Inde. Lod, 2010, pp. 2-3.