A ketubbah (“writ”) is a pre-nuptual contract that specifies many of a groom’s obligations to his bride in the event of divorce or the death of the husband. Rooted in ancient traditions, the ketubbah, the purpose of which is to protect a woman’s interests, was for much of its history a genuine contract, the specifics of which could be modified for individual relationships; eventually, though, the formula of the ketubbah was standardized.  

Beyond its legal function, in recognition of the important life-cycle occasion that it accompanied, the ketubbah became an important art form, with communities across the Jewish diaspora adorning these contracts with elaborate calligraphy and decorative borders. This parchment fragment, from the Cairo Genizah, is one of the earliest surviving examples of a decorated ketubbah. The text that survives here consists of several lines of blessings and good wishes to the bride and groom, which would have formed a preamble to the actual text of the contract.