Bidspirit auction | Parchment Ketubah, Illustrated by Artist

Parchment Ketubah, Illustrated by Artist R. David Elkaim – Safi, Morocco, 1906 – Esbe'ony (Sibony) Family - Parchment ketubah, recording the marriage of the groom Meir Baruch son of Avraham son of Moshe Esbe'ony to the bride Esther daughter of Aharon son of Yaakov Esbe'ony. Safi (”Asfi”), Morocco, 25th Adar 5666 [22 March 1906]. Ink and paint on parchment. Magnificent ketubah, illuminated by artist and poet R. David (Nissim) Elkayam. Signed in the lower left corner with the initials: ”D.N.E”. Written on a large rectangular sheet of parchment. The ketubah text appears at center in Sephardic semi-cursive script, with several words emphasized in square letters. The witnesses are signed in the margins of the text: Shimon Adahan, Massoud son of David VeYosef, and Yaakov Marciano. The ketubah text is enclosed within an architectonic frame, with two massive pillars standing on a broad base and surmounted by a rounded pediment incorporating a heraldic shield and an additional pair of pillars. Verses of blessing appear at the top and bottom of the ketubah, incorporated into various ornaments, alongside a large monogram combining the letters ME – the initials of the bride and groom. The margins are decorated with a broad rectangular frame bearing a repeating vegetal pattern. Artist and poet R. David Elkayam (1851-1941) decorated numerous ketubot for Moroccan communities in the late 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. Unlike many North African ketubot decorated with artistic motifs characteristic of Islamic lands, R. David Elkayam incorporated European motifs into his work. In the present ketubah, these are manifested in the classical architectonic design at center, the ornaments of ribbons and floral wreaths, and the initials of the bride and groom appearing as a monogram in the lower margins. A distinctive artistic feature of the present ketubah is the heraldic shield at its top. Shields of this type appear in only a few ketubot decorated by R. David Elkayam, and apparently allude to the historical roots of the Esbe'ony family in Spain or Portugal. Similar motifs appear in the coats of arms of the Spanish-Portuguese Abravanel and de Sousa families. Two other ketubot decorated by R. Elkayam for members of the Esbe'ony family are held in the collection of the Israel Museum (B63.10.2716, dated 1896) and in the Paul Dahan Collection, Brussels (KET 24, dated 1927). For further information about Elkayam, see: Joseph Chetrit, ”R. David Elkayam, a Hebrew Poet in Morocco”, Apyrion, 1 (Spring 1983), pp. 96-102 (Hebrew); Shalom Sabar, ”An Elaborate Ketubah from the Community of Essaouira, Morocco, 1898, by the Artist R. David Elkayan, the Foremost Ketubah Artist of Essaouira (Mogador)”, Brit, 25 (2006), pp. 18-21 (Hebrew). 67X55.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Slight fading of ink. Folding marks and creases. Holes and minor tears to margins, repaired on verso with parchment patches.