Ketubah recording the marriage of the groom Avraham son of Yosef Colon with the bride Nechama daughter of Moshe Puah. Fossano, Italy, Tevet 1710.
On the right margins of the ketubah are the witnesses' signatures: "Yonah son of Gavriel…", "Avraham… Natan of the Baruch family". On the left side is the groom's signature.
The text of the ketubah is framed by colorful illustrations: at the top, inside a cartouche supported by three angels, is a family emblem - an elephant carrying a tower on his back [this symbol appears in the coat of arms of the printer Giorgio di Cavalli, who printed Hebrew books in Venice from 1565 to 1568]. On the right and left margins are leaves integrated with winged hearts pierced with arrows, crowns and plants with leaves and fruit, with bases of winged angels. On the bottom is a cartouche (empty) supported by a pair of angels and a large flower facing downward.
The Fossano community is one of the three communities – Asti, Fossano and Moncalvo ("Afam") - founded by expatriates who settled in the Piemonte district of Italy after being expelled from France in the 14th century. These communities preserved the ancient traditional prayer version of France which was relinquished after the Jewish expulsion. This version, called "the Afam tradition", was never printed and survived only in ancient manuscripts.
36.5X47.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Stains. Creases and folding marks. Open tears (about 1 cm. on right margin and 3.5 cm. on left margin). Tears reinforced with tape.
Ketubot from Fossano are not listed in the Ketubot catalog and website of the NLI