Beautiful Moroccan Ketubah on Parchment
With Colorful Illustrations
Essaouira (Mogador), 1882
A large and impressive ketubah for the wedding of David ben Yosef Zafrani and Mazal Tov bat Yitzchak Ben Malloul, from the "Toshavim" community in the city of Essaouira (formerly known as Mogador), Morocco.
A large sheet of parchment with the text of the ketubah written in the center, surrounded by a beautiful architectural frame with columns, adorned with decorative relief-like designs and a drawing of a royal crown.
The entire frame is painted in vibrant and eye-catching colors, with touches of gold powder!
The "Mogador ketubot" created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are renowned for their breathtaking beauty and are considered a distinct artistic style within Moroccan ketubot. The famous art historian Professor Shalom Sabar writes:
"Some of the Mogador ketubot are among the most beautiful ketubot ever produced in Morocco in recent centuries." (From his article on another ketubah from 1898; attached is a photograph).
The ketubah is similar in certain aspects to the famous ketubot painted by the well-known artist and poet Rabbi David Elkayam, who created many of the "Mogador ketubot" from that period. (For reference, see Wedding in Mogador [Tel Aviv, 2004], which contains stunning photographs of many ketubot created by him. The present ketubah predates all of them by several years.)
The chassan committed in the ketubah to a sum of 5,000 "Doros Gedolim di Spania" – large Spanish gold coins.
The ketubah is signed by Rabbi Yehuda ben Machlouf Moyal (one of the Essaouira Rabbanim who immigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1910 and passed away there in 1911), Rabbi Shlomo ben Shushan, the chassan David Zafrani, and Rabbi Yaakov Elmaliach.
Essaouira (formerly known as Mogador) Morocco, 4 Adar 5642 (February 23, 1882). Ink, colors, and gold powder on a large parchment sheet.
Size: Approx. 27.5 × 41.5 cm.
Condition: Peeling and fading of color. Stains (primarily at the bottom of the ketubah). Housed in a protective passe-partout frame for preservation.
