Illustrated Parchment Ketubah – Iraqi Community in Singapore, 1899

Illustrated Parchment Ketubah – Iraqi Community in Singapore, 1899

Illustrated parchment ketubah for the marriage of Yosef Khaliffa Matook and Khatoon daughter of Reuven Sassoon. Singapore, 5th Tammuz (June 13) 1899.
Ink and paint on parchment.
Parchment membrane, with vibrantly colored illustrations in green, red, pink and blue, and decorated golden frames, arranged and designed in a similar fashion to ketubot of the Baghdadi community in Calcutta (Kolkata), India. The upper frame is designed as a triangle with truncated corners, with verses of blessings written in square letters. The lower frame is rectangular, containing the text of the ketubah, in Sephardic script (the names and numbers in square script). Wide margins, decorated with a vegetal motif including colorful roses and songbirds; on the bottom margin are a pair of fish swimming toward each other (another motif characteristic of the Calcutta Baghdadi community).
At the bottom of the text of the ketubah appear signatures of the bridegroom and the witnesses: "Ezra Meir Avraham Shalom Suleiman", "Aharon Shlomo Yosef Eliyahu". Below the signatures appears a confirmation handwritten and signed by "Eliyahu Yosef Sherida" – a Singapore rabbi, with his stamp and the official stamp of the "Singapore community – Magen Avot". Next to R. Sherida's confirmation is an additional confirmation in English on the genuineness of his signature, dated 1921, with an embossed stamp of the British Colonial Secretary. On left margin, stamp and tax stamp.

The first Jews to reach Singapore in the first decades on the 19th century were merchants originating from Baghdad, having arrived mainly from India, Iraq and Iran. In 1840, about 22 Jewish residents were registered on the island. The Magen Avot synagogue, inaugurated in 1878, is considered the oldest in Southeast Asia; at the time of its inauguration the Jewish community numbered some 172 members.
There are a few known ketubot from Singapore, including two in the Israel Museum collection (from 1880 and 1938, items B05695 and B00.0652 respectively), and a third formerly in the Sassoon collection (from 1879, Ohel David, no. 432, p. 383).

30X47 cm. Overall good condition. Some stains. Creases and folds.

· Enclosed with the ketubah:
A large paper leaf, typewritten, with handwritten additions – "Abstract of Marriage Document", an official document issued for the British authorities in Singapore, containing a brief translation of the above ketubah. Singapore, [1899]. English.
According to the document, the wedding of the couple (Joseph Khaliffa and Khatoon Reuben Sassoon) was held on June 13, 1898 [should be 1899], in the Magen Avot synagogue on Waterloo Street, Singapore.
The document cites the groom's promises to the bride during the wedding ceremony, with a detailed listing of his halachic duties towards her, as well as the bride's promises to the groom to fulfill the halachic duties of a married woman. According to the document, the wedding was officiated by R. Sherida, and the names of the above witnesses are cited. At the bottom of this document appear the signature of R. "Eliyahu Yosef Sherida" (in Hebrew), his stamp (in English) and the stamp of the Magen Avot synagogue in Singapore (in Hebrew).
At the top and bottom of the leaf are two tax stamps (marked one dollar and five dollars) and two official stamps (embossed and ink).
Next to the rabbi's signature are several lines confirming the veracity of the contents, signed by the local British Justice of Peace.
At the bottom of the leaf is a handwritten confirmation of the genuineness of R. Sherida's signature, dated 1921, with a handwritten signature and an embossed stamp of the British Colonial Secretary.
On the verso of the leaf is an ink stamp filled in by hand (Dutch), next to an official stamp of the Dutch Consulate in Singapore (confirmation of the registration of the marriage?).

Approx. 33.5X40 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Creases and folding marks. Small marginal tears and open tears.