Joe Claude Dwek, CBE of Manchester acquired at a recent auction the 1847 ketubah of his great great grand parents David and Rachel Farhi and wished to share it on Les Fleurs de L'Orient.

Written and illustrated on large rectangular parchment sheet, with right and left margins cut in a wave pattern. The ketubah text appears in the center, in cursive Sephardic script (with several words written in square script), inside a large arch decorated in red and gold, with verses of blessing.

At the top of the ketubah is a large vase from which thick golden vines emerge, decorating most of the area of the ketubah, with meticulous decorations of colorful flower arrangements, leaves and branches.

Witnesses: R. Meir Shultan, Rabbi of Damascus, and R. Chaim Maimon Tov, born in Gibraltar and official Rabbi of the city (1825-1849).

The Farhi family was one of the distinguished and noble families of Damascus, with a high status and influence on economic and political life in Syria and Eretz Israel. Haim el Muallim Farhi, financial manager and advisor to the Ottoman authorities in Acre and Syria (who was eventually put to death by Governor Abdullah Pasha).

His younger brother, Raphael el Muallim Farhi (father of the groom of the present ketubah) served as Finance Minister to the Governor of Damascus. Samuel Farhi (father of the bride of the present ketubah) was his nephew.

Condition: Maximum size: 80×62 cm. Fair-poor condition. Large open rectangular piece lacking from right margins (apparently cut off at some point for reuse). Many folds, affecting text and decorations. Many stains and damage to colorful decorations.

Parchment Ketubah – Damascus, 1847

Ketubah (enlarged)