Teheran, Iran, 1875

Bride: Miryam bat Efrayim
Groom: David ben Pinhas Katz
Sunday, 13 Nisan 5635 (April 18, 1875)
On paper

In addition to the design on rugs, marriage contract decorations, both Jewish and Muslim, were influenced by traditional Iranian book illumination. This ketubah is an example of this influence. The text is set in even rectangular panels, each panel enclosing about four or five lines. The names of the bride and groom and the statement "according to the laws of Moses and Israel" are written in large Hebrew block letters; the rest of the text is written in a semi-cursive script. The text is framed by floral panels on either side. There is an additional decorative panel above the text that contains traditional blessings for the wedding couple. This panel is known in Iranian as the sar lowh.

A full size, readable image of this Ketubah is available by following this link to the Beinecke's Digital Image Collection