Ketubah (כתובה), Ancona, 13 Adar 5555 (4 March 1795)
Description
This decorated ketubah, as well as Braginsky Collection K29
produced just six years earlier, represent the height of ketubah
illustration in Ancona. The text of this ketubah is centered under
the arch supported by a pair of ornamental columns. While arches
were commonly used as framing devices in ketubah decorations since
the earliest known ketubot from the Cairo Genizah, the gold letters
inscribed here against the blue spandrels provide an additional
meaning. The six square Hebrew letters, an acronym for Psalms
118:20: “This is the gate of the Lord, through which the
righteous may enter”, signify that the bridal couple is
symbolically passing through the heavenly gate into a sanctified
stage in their life. A depiction of the sacrifice of Isaac, an
allusion to the bridegroom whose second name is Isaac, is located
in a cartouche at the top center. This scene, a symbol of
faithfulness and messianic promise that appears on many italian
ketubot, has been the most popular biblical story in Jewish art
over the ages. The female figure beneath has not been identified so
far.
