Document with Hebrew writing flanked by two columns and surrounded by an elaborate, floral border that includes, at top, a bowl of flowers with a red bird on either side

Ketubbah
1779
The Dorot Jewish Division

Ketubbah

The ketubbah, the Jewish wedding contract, outlines the legal and financial responsibilities of a husband to his wife. Signed by witnesses, the document is typically hung prominently in a couple’s home, since Jewish law forbids a couple from cohabitating if their ketubbah is lost or destroyed. This particular contract was produced in 1779 in Acqui Terme, a town in the province of Alessandria in northern Italy’s Piedmont region. The ketubbah was signed on Friday, 3 Adar, 5539 (February 19, 1779) by a groom, Aharon Yehuda ben Barukh Halevi, and his bride, Vitoria bat Mosheh Halfan. The rich, bright, and detailed floral and foliate design of this ketubbah is distinctive to this part of Italy. Very few ketubbot from Acqui Terme have survived.

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