Two Illuminated Marriage Contracts, Teheran: 1913 and 1920

Colored inks and gouache with shell gold and silver on paper

Kettubah, 1913: Folio (9 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.; 241 x 165 mm). 6 leaves, f. 1r blank, f. 1v with a word panel on a silver ground surmounted by a floral decoration, ff. 1v–2r both containing scalloped cartouches accomplished in a scribal hand on gold grounds within rectangular panels ruled in blue, yellow, and orange inks, floriated borders embellished with violet, blue, red and gold inks and similarly ruled, ff. 2v–4r each containing four scalloped cartouches on gold grounds within rectangular panels ruled like ff. 1v–2r, cloud-like scalloped borders on a gold ground, interior edges of borders with blue and red ink abstract decorations, the whole ruled like ff. 1v–2r, ff. 4v–6r decorated as in ff. 2v–4r but unaccomplished, f. 6v blank; blue ink stain migrating from wrapper, slightly affecting text and decoration on f. 1v and along center fold in remaining leaves. Coated salmon paper wrapper watermarked with Cyrillic lettering; large blue ink stain at near fold, vertical and horizontal center crease folds, vertical fold rubbed. —  Kettubah, 1920: 4to ( 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.; 216 x 165 mm). 4 leaves, ff. 1v–2r word panels surmounted by floral decoration each with two accomplished oval cartouches below, cartouches separated by a silver rule, border containing blank oval cartouches of different lengths and picked out with linked blue ink trefoils, all on a gold ground, ff. 2v–4r with panels containing four rectangular cartouches separated by alternating gold and silver rules, borders as in ff. 1v–2r, f. 4v blank; gold and silver grounds mostly oxidized, first and last leaves loose. Bright coral wrappers, bound in a red velvet portfolio with blind-stamped center arabesque lozenge. Both housed in a red cloth folding case.

1. Celebrating the Wedding of David the son of Babai the son of Solomon to Iran the daughter of Jacob on Thursday 5 Tamuz 5673 (= July 10, 1913).

2. Celebrating the wedding of Moses, son of Agai Khani, the physician, to Rachel, the daughter of Reuven on Thursday 26 Elul 5680 (= September 9, 1920). 

These two book-form ketubbot were created for members of the Jewish community of Teheran. Decorated marriage contracts in booklet form were popular among Muslims during the second half of the nineteenth century and their designs and forms undoubtedly exerted an influence on the early twentieth-century Jewish marriage contracts produced in Teheran. Typically, the pages were decorated in advance of the insertion of the ketubbah text. In this booklet-style of ketubbah, the initial leaves are the most richly ornamented, here with floral borders and gold and silver highlights. Both ketubbot are housed together within a modern clamshell box.