Ketubah for the marriage of Moshe son of Yehudah (Moisés Bensabat) Amzalak with the bride Orovida daughter of Yaakov Sikira. Lisbon, Tamuz 1924.
Ketubah on large sheet of parchment, in semi-cursive Sephardic script, decorated with colors (brown, gold, green, red, yellow and blue).

Like other Ketubot documented from Lisbon, its decorations recall the Ketubot from Gibraltar: headed by a large crown (the crown of the Spanish kingdom), decorated with gold, surrounded by blessings. The text of the Ketubah is surrounded by a styled frame, decorated with flowers and ribbons: its bottom part is styled after a scroll, with branches, stalks and flower bouquets extending from it. In the center of the text, the word "Chai" is enlarged. In the bottom-right corner appears the signature of the artist: "D. M. Benabu. Gibraltar"; apparently the Ketubah was made in Gibraltar for a wedding held in Lisbon.
The text of the Ketubah follows the customs of the Jews expelled from Spain.
On the margins of the Ketubah is the signature of the groom, Moisés Bensabat Amzalak.

The groom, Prof. Moisés Bensabat Amzalak (1892-1978), was a prominent figure in Portugal, and president of the Jewish community in the country for over 50 years. Amzalak was a world-famous economist, and headed the Portuguese Academy of Sciences. He served as the chief editor of academic journals, and published dozens of books and hundreds of articles in economy and various other topics, including history, Jewish thought and culture, literature, music and more. He served in various leading government offices in Portugal, and drafted the country's financial laws. During World War II he persuaded the Portuguese dictator to take in Jewish refugees from Europe, thus saving tens of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust.

60x70 cm. Good condition. Stains. Some creases.

PLEASE NOTE: Item descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to Hebrew text.