A Ketubbah, meaning “writ,” is, traditionally, a pre-nuptual contract that stipulates the obligations a groom takes upon himself should he divorce or pre-decease his wife. Through the Middle Ages, the vast majority of ketubbot (pl. of ketubah) looked like common contracts, which were very rarely enhanced with simple decoration. But beginning in early modernity, ketubbot were more commonly magnificently decorated, and they remain one of the most outstanding media for Jewish artistic creativity. 

This unusual ketubbah, with an engraved border, raises questions. It is impossible to miss the reclining Adam and Eve—with Eve, fully naked and exposed, facing front. But if you look carefully, you will also see four nude female torsos at the four corners of the outer border. And if you look even more carefully, you will see many illustrations of biblical scenes in the spaces that populate the borders, some of which represent God in human (or near-human) form. Scholars speculate that this document was not originally intended for a ketubbah, and that its creator must have been Christian. This would suggest that Jews were free to “partner” with their Christian neighbors for even their luxury needs. It also suggests that Jews of the time were willing to look past prohibitions (such as the human-like depiction of God) that we would assume are disqualifying.