Ketubah : Ancona, Italy, 1777, March 19

Marriage contract, manuscript, ink on vellum, dated 10th Adar II, 5537 at Ankona (1777). Text is written in Italian square characters. The tena'im, written in cursive, appear beneath the ketubah text and are signed by the witnesses who also signed the ketubah. The document is scalloped at the top with a floral border in a cut-out, lace-like design. The text of Psalm 45 surrounds the ketubah and is written in green ink. Framing the ketubah are biblical scenes in cut-out images of Delilah cutting Samson�s hair, Samson taking honey from the lion, Esther pleading before the king, the binding of Isaac, Elijah going up in the chariot, Rachel at the well, Joseph with Potiphar�s wife, David holding Goliath�s head, Samuel anointing David, Samson tearing down the gates of Gaza, and Judith holding the head of Holophernes. At the four corners of the document are representations of the traditional four crowns: the crown of royalty, of a good name, of priesthood, and of Torah.