The Art of the Jewish Marriage Contract

Recorded on August 2, 2023
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Ketubbot (singular ketubah), marriage contracts, have been integral to Jewish weddings for millennia. Throughout the ages, ketubbot were not merely legal documents but magnificent works of art. Beginning with the first simply decorated examples from Medieval Egypt, ketubbot were frequently embellished with decorative borders and fine calligraphy, and still are to this day. This virtual seminar will explore the art and history of decorated Jewish marriage contracts and why they are a rich source of information about broader Jewish history and culture.
During this Zoom program in honor of Tu B'Av, the so-called "Jewish Valentine's Day, Judaica curator, historian, and appraiser Sharon Liberman Mintz led a deep dive into illuminated marriage contracts through the centuries.
Sharon Liberman Mintz is the Curator of Jewish Art at The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and specializes in the art of Hebrew illuminated manuscripts and rare printed books. Over the course of 36 years at the Library, she has curated more than 50 exhibitions and co-authored eleven exhibition catalogs. Since 1995, Ms. Mintz has also served as the Senior Specialist for Judaica and Hebraica at Sotheby's. In that capacity, she has cataloged and appraised decorated Hebrew manuscripts, books, ketubbot, and megillot for Judaica sales worldwide for over two decades.
Thumbnail Image Credit (left): Ketubah; Ancona, Italy 1816. Courtesy of Jewish Theological Seminary.
Image Credit (right): Ketubah; Venice 1749. Courtesy of Jewish Theological Seminary.