Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Yehuda HaLevi son of Moshe HaLevi Abenyuli, to the bride Zohara daughter of Yitzchak Ben Hassin. Meknes, 18th Kislev 1855.
Ink and paint on paper.
Elaborate illuminated ketubah, decorated with architectural motifs and geometric and vegetal arabesques influenced by Andalusian art. The center of the ketubah is occupied by a large horseshoe arch resting on a pair of pillars. This arch, typical of Moorish architecture, is strikingly resemblant to the arch decorating the Bab el-Khemis gate to the old city of Meknes, established in the 17th century and serving as main entrance to the Meknes medina and mellah (Jewish quarter).
The texts of the ketubah and tena'im are inscribed in the arch. The upper quarter of the ketubah contains wedding wishes. The ketubah is signed by two Meknes rabbis: R. Yaakov Toledano and R. Rafael Berdugo.
The HaLevi Abenyuli family was a distinguished Moroccan family of prominent merchants, royal courtiers, communal leaders and rabbis. This fact is reflected in the Yachas HaKetubah listing the groom's lineage five generations back, until the community leader Shmuel HaLevi Abenyuli (see Hebrew description; the custom of listing the groom's lineage many generations back, occasionally all the way up to the Spanish exiles, was prevalent amongst distinguished Moroccan families).

58X44 cm. Fair-good condition. Folding marks and creases. Some stains. Tears along folds, slightly affecting text and ornaments. Several minor open tears.

For further information about R. Shmuel HaLevi Abenyuli and his family, see: The Ha-Levi ibn Yuli Family, by Haim Bentov, in: East and Maghreb, Researches in the History of the Jews in the Orient and North Africa, Jerusalem, 1980, p. 131 (Hebrew); The Kabbalists of Draa, by Rachel Elior, in: Pe'amim 24, 1985, pp. 36-73 (Hebrew). The present ketubah was presented at several exhibitions, and documented in several essays and books.
Reference and exhibitions:
* Virtuous Housewife, the Work of an Artist: Sephardi Ketubbot through the Ages, by Shalom Sabar, in: Mechira Pumbit, no. 25, 2001, p. 27. (Hebrew)
* Lots of luck: Jewish Amulets and Ritual Objects, edited by Yael Wiesel and Sara Shahak. Ashdod, the Museum of Philistine Culture, 2013, p. 11 (Hebrew).
* From the remotest West. Tel Aviv, Eretz Israel Museum, 1989.
* The Sephardic Journey: 1492-1992, edited by Marc Engel, Shalom Sabar and Chaya Benjamin. New York, Yeshiva University Museum, 1992, p. 79.
* Sephardi Elements in North African Hebrew Manuscript Decoration, by Shalom Sabar, in: Jewish Art, vol 18, 1992, pp. 168-191 (illustrated on page 183).
* Faces of Faith. Washington, Klutznick National Jewish Museum, 1994.
* Morocco, Jews and Art in a Muslim Land, edited by Vivian B. Mann. New York, Merrell, 2000, p. 163, Item no. 104.
* Morocco. New York, the Jewish Museum, 2000-2001.
* Arts et Cultures du Maroc: Un jardin d'objets, by Marie-Rose Rabaté and André Goldenberg. Paris, 2004, p. 244.
* Life Cycle Practices, by Shalom Sabar, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, edited by Norman A. Stillman, vol. 3. Leiden, Brill, 2010, p. 140.
* Art and the Jews of Morocco, by André Goldenberg. Paris, 2014, pp. 162-163 (illustrated).
* The Preservation and Continuation of Sephardi Art in Morocco, by Shalom Sabar, in: European Judaism, A Journal for the New Europe, vol. 52, no. 2, 2019, pp. 59-81 (illustrated).
* "Juifs d'Orient". Paris, Institut du Monde Arabe, 2021-2022.
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.011.010.
The ketubah is documented on the NLI website, and on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 442002.