Select manuscript from this collection: B26  B351 K26  S102  54/107

Country of Location:
Country of Location
Switzerland
Location:
Location
Zürich
Library / Collection:
Library / Collection
Braginsky Collection
Shelfmark:
Shelfmark
K21
Manuscript Title:
Manuscript Title
Ketubah (כתובה), Gibraltar, 4 Tevet 5583 (December 18, 1822)
Caption:
Caption
Parchment · 1 f. · 66.6 x 56.7 cm · Gibraltar · 1822
Language:
Language
Hebrew
Manuscript Summary:
Manuscript Summary
At the time this ketubah was produced, most of the Gibraltar’s retail trade was conducted by the local Sephardic community; many of its members came from the adjacent parts of North Africa. The present Gibraltar contract belongs to an early period of local ketubah decoration, although some of its features foretell later developments. The upper section depicts a pair of lions crouched back-to-back, overlaid with circles containing the abbreviated Ten Commandments. The composition is reminiscent of the top of Torah arks, and indeed it is topped with a crown, intended as a Torah Crown. The crouching lions are flanked by vases of flowers. In the side borders, beneath theatrical drapery and trumpets suspended from ribbons, fanciful column bases are surmounted by urns. Several elements in the marriage contract are characteristic of Gibraltar ketubot. The initial word of the wedding day, Wednesday, as was common, is enlarged and ornamented. Also typical of Gibraltar is the ornamental Latin monogram at bottom center. Comprising the letters SJB, it refers to the bridal couple’s first (Solomon, Judith) and last (Benoleil) initials. (red)
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
DOI (Digital Object Identifier
10.5076/e-codices-bc-k-0021 (http://dx.doi.org/10.5076/e-codices-bc-k-0021)
Permanent link:
Permanent link
http://e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/k-0021
IIIF Manifest URL:
IIIF Manifest URL
IIIF Drag-n-drop http://e-codices.ch/metadata/iiif/bc-k-0021/manifest.json
How to quote:
How to quote
Zürich, Braginsky Collection, K21: Ketubah (כתובה), Gibraltar, 4 Tevet 5583 (December 18, 1822) (http://e-codices.ch/en/list/one/bc/k-0021).
Online Since:
Online Since
03/22/2017
External resources:
External resources
Rights:
Rights
Images:
(Concerning all other rights see each manuscript description and our Terms of use)
Document Type:
Document Type
Document
Century:
Century
19th century
Dated:
Dated
1822
Decoration:
Decoration
Full Page, Fully Painted, Initial, Ornamental
Liturgica hebraica:
Liturgica hebraica
Ketubbah
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e-codices · 01/25/2017, 17:44:37

The Jewish community on the British Rock of Gibraltar reached its height in the nineteenth century, when it numbered nearly 2,000, comprising
more than ten percent of the general civilian population. At the time this ketubbah was produced most of Gibraltar’s retail trade was conducted by the local
Sephardic community; many of its members came from the adjacent parts of North Africa.
Following other Sephardic communities, Gibraltar’s Jews excelled in the art of ketubbah decoration. Contracts were written on large pieces of parchment and ornamented in bright colors. By the second half of the nineteenth century Gibraltar developed its own characteristic and readily identifiable type of decoration.
The present Gibraltar contract belongs to an early period of local ketubbah decoration, though some of its features foretell later developments. The upper section depicts a pair of lions crouched back-to-back, overlaid with circles containing the abbreviated Ten Commandments. The composition is reminiscent of the top of Torah arks and indeed it is topped with a crown, intended as a Torah Crown. This motif, typical of later Gibraltar ketubbot, was often modeled on the British royal crown. The crouching lions are flanked by vases of flowers. In the side borders, beneath theatrical drapery and trumpets suspended from ribbons, fanciful column bases are surmounted by urns.
Several elements in the marriage contract are characteristic of Gibraltar ketubbot. The initial word of the wedding day, Wednesday, as was common, is enlarged and ornamented. The sum of the dowry and increment is a factor of eighteen, the number that is also the propitious word hai, written here in monumental letters amid small cursive script. Also typical of Gibraltar is the ornamental Latin monogram at bottom center. Comprising the letters S J B, it refers to the bridal couple’s first (Solomon, Judith) and last (Benoleil) initials. This feature is also found in Moroccan ketubbot, as are the section with Sephardic conditions, and the request that God take revenge for the expulsion of the Jews from Castile (cat. no. 76).

A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 212.

e-codices · 01/25/2017, 17:40:53

Die jüdische Gemeinde in der britischen Felsenkolonie und Marinebasis Gibraltar erlebte ihre Blüte im 19. Jahrhundert. Die meist aus dem nahegelegenen Nordafrika zugewanderten Sefardim erlangten vor allem im Einzelhandel Führungspositionen. Aus dieser Zeit stammen auch ihre schönsten Ketubbot. Aufgrund ihres klassizistischen Stils und ihrer bunten Farben können sie als ein eigener, ohne weiteres zu identifizierender Dekorationstypus charakterisiert werden.
Im oberen Teil werden zwei Rücken an Rücken kauernde Löwen teilweise von zwei Tafeln mit den in Abkürzungen wiedergegebenen Zehn Geboten verdeckt. Darüber befindet sich eine Krone, die als «Krone der Tora» zu deuten ist. Tatsächlich mutet diese dekorative Konstellation wie der obere Teil eines Toraschreins an, was zugleich ein typisches Gestaltungsmotiv der Ketubbot aus Gibraltar ist. Auf den Seitenteilen erscheinen Postamente mit dekorativen Blumenvasen und Draperien, an denen Bänder mit Schleifen und Blasinstrumente hängen.
Der Vertragstext ist im Wesentlichen in einer sefardischen Kursive geschrieben. Auffallend sind im letzten Drittel des Textes die monumentalen Buchstaben des Wortes Chai, das zum einen den Zahlenwert 18 hat und somit auf die Gesamtsumme von Aufgeld und Mitgift in der Höhe von 1800 Pesos verweist, zum anderen ist es der Name für den «lebendigen Gott». Ebenso typisch für Ketubbot aus Gibraltar, aber auch aus Marokko, sind aus lateinischen Buchstaben zusammengesetzte Monogramme. Hier stehen die Initialen sjb für die Vornamen und den Familiennamen des Hochzeitspaars.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 212.

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A Journey through Jewish Worlds. Highlights from the Braginsky collection of Hebrew manuscripts and printed books, hrsg. E. M. Cohen, S. L. Mintz, E. G. L. Schrijver, Amsterdam, 2009, p. 212.

Schöne Seiten. Jüdische Schriftkultur aus der Braginsky Collection, Hrsg. von Emile Schrijver und Falk Wiesemann, Zürich 2011, S. 212.

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