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 simple but beautiful ketubbah from Damascus, Syria, shows the unmistakable influence of the local visual culture. The decorative program, the colors, the floral decorations, and the blessing at the top, all announce its Islamic home (note the complete absence of human and even animal figures). 

The blessing at the top reads, “with a good sign, and at a time of blessing and joy and male children and joy and gladness.” The unmistakable preference for boys over girls was a common if perhaps lamentable prejudice.