Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Chaim son of Moshe Valensi and the bride Zinbul daughter of Shlomo David Pallache. Izmir, Ottoman Empire, 12 Adar 1882.
Ink, paint, and gold cutouts on paper.
Large ketubah, reflecting the art of ketubah decoration of Spanish Jews in Izmir in the 19th century. The upper edge of the sheet was cut in form of a pointed arch, with a small finial. The text of the ketubah is scribed in the center of the leaf, within an arch bearing a Hebrew inscription. Most of the interior of the ketubah is decorated with colorful vegetal designs and pasted cutouts of golden paper, which serve as rectangular frames and form a large Star of David in the center, above the text of the ketubah. Witnesses' signatures at the foot of the text: Nissim Chaim Moda'i (right), Chaim Michael Estrugo, and groom's signature (center). Stamp of Kollel Izmir on the finial.
The present item is characteristic of ketubah ornamentation produced by Spanish Jews in the Ottoman Empire in general, and in Izmir in particular. This tradition ceased towards the end of the 19th century, and printed ketubah forms replaced the hand-illuminated ketubot. The uniform design of the printed ketubot was nevertheless directly impacted by the illuminated ketubot, and many motifs appearing in the present ketubah were preserved in the printed ones (including: the Star of David, arch with Hebrew inscription, and side ornaments which evolved into a pair of pillars).
The surname of the groom, Valensi, presumably points to the family's origins from Valensia, Spain. The bride, Zinbul Pallache, was the daughter of R. Shlomo David Pallache (1839-1914), rabbi and shochet in Izmir, and granddaughter of R. Avraham Pallache, Chacham Bashi of Izmir and eldest son of R. Chaim Pallache, leading Torah scholar in Izmir.

73X54 cm. Overall good condition. Folding marks, creases and stains. Tears, slightly affecting text and ornaments, professionally restored in part.

Reference: Decorated Ketubot, by Shalom Sabar, in: Sephardi Jews in the Ottoman Empire, edited by Esther Juhasz. Jerusalem, the Israel Museum, 1989, pp. 218-237 (see also notes 29-30).
Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, 035.011.048.
The ketubah is documented on the NLI website (mistakenly dated there 1932 instead of 1882), and on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA) website, item no. 48825.