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 beautiful ketubbah, from Ancona, Italy, is richly decorated with a floral motif, birds, and a butterfly at the top. The style of the decoration, along with the shape of the ketubbah itself, are typical of Italian ketubbot of the time. 

The text is divided in two, with the text of the ketubbah at the top and more personal “conditions,” written in another hand, at the bottom.