Parchment Ketubah – Essaouira (Mogador), 1902 – Illustrated by Artist R. David Elkayam and Decorated with American ...

Parchment Ketubah – Essaouira (Mogador), 1902 – Illustrated by Artist R. David Elkayam and Decorated with American and Austro-Hungarian Coats of Arms

Decorated parchment ketubah, for the wedding of Moshe son of Yitzchak son of Yaakov Afriat and Simchah daughter of Dinar son of Yaakov son of Yamin Ochana. Essaouira (Mogador), Morocco, Thursday, 18 Adar II 5662 [March 27,1902].

Ink and paint on parchment.

Written on a large rectangular parchment sheet. The text of the ketubah appears in the center in Sephardic semi-cursive script, with a few words emphasized in square script. On the margins of the text appear the signatures of the groom ("Moïse Yitzchak Afriat") and witnesses – rabbis of Essaouira: R. Avraham Tzabach – head of the city's Beit Din, and two members of his Beit Din: R. Masud Knafo and R. Yehudah ibn Moyal. After the name of the groom, his lineage is traced for several generations up to a R. Yosef son of R. Ayush Almaliach, author of Tokpo Shel Yosef (Responsa Tokpo Shel Yosef by R. Yosef son of Ayush Almaliach was published in Livorno, 1823 and 1855).

Richly decorated by the artist and poet R. David Elkayam (Elkaïm; 1851-1941), who decorated many ketubot in Morocco in the late 19th century and first decades of the 20th century (signed in the bottom-left corner with his initials, "DE", and with an ink stamp). By contrast to many North African ketubot, which were decorated with motifs characteristic of the Islamic lands, R. David Elkayam adopted European motifs for his artwork, expressed in the present ketubah in the classic architectural pattern covering most of its area, curtain decorations and flower arrangements, as well as the initials of the bride and groom, appearing in the upper margins and recurring as a monogram in the bottom margins (MS).

Another unique characteristic of the present ketubah is the two coats of arms appearing in its upper part: the coat of arms of the United States of America (to the right) and the coat of arms of Austria-Hungary (to the left). These symbols allude to a notable historical phenomenon and the special status accorded to select Jewish families in Essaouira, who were called Tujjar al-Sultan – "the king's merchants": these families were selected by the Moroccan Sultan to develop and manage trade relations with Europe and the United States, and in return received many privileges, also serving as commercial consuls of various countries in Essaouira. The bride and groom's families – the Afriat and Ochana families – were among the socioeconomic elite of Essaouira's Jews, and apparently these coats of arms represent their commercial ties with the United States and the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

72X57 cm. Overall good condition. Some stains, mainly to margins, slightly affecting text and illustrations. Creases. Damage to illustrations and part of text written in gilt and silver in upper decorations. Tears and light damage to margins, professionally restored.

For another ketubah from Essaouira decorated with the flag of the USA, and for information on various national symbols appearing on ketubot, see: Shalom Sabar, Mazal Tov: Illustrated Ketubot from the Israel Museum Collection (Jerusalem, 1993), No. 38; pp. 115-139 (Hebrew). For further information on R. David Elkayam (Elkaïm), see: Yosef Shitrit, R. David Elkaïm, Hebrew Poet in Morocco, Apiryon I (Spring 1983), pp. 96-102 (Hebrew); Shalom Sabar, "A Magnificent Ketubbah from Mogador, Morocco, 1898 – Illustrated by David Elkayyim", Brit XXV (2006), pp. 18-21 (Hebrew); for another ketubah decorated by R. David Elkayam, also documenting a wedding of the Afriat and Ochana families in Essaouira (1921), see: Kedem, Auction 48, Lot 6. See also: René Braginsky Collection, K86.

This ketubah is documented in the NLI Ketubot website, listing 990003035550205171.