(KETHUBAH).

Hebron (Eretz Israel), 5th Tishrei, 1870

Marriage Contract. Manuscript in Hebrew composed in Sephardic cursive script on thick arched paper, uniting the bridegroom Raphael Samuel Guzlan ben Aaron Meir Mercado with the bride Mazal Tov the daughter of HaChassid HaMekubal Yechiel Kuianka (a family who sired many great rabbis and scholars).

THE EARLIEST RECORDED KETHUBAH FROM HEBRON. This Kethubah pre-dates the earliest Hebron Kethubah held in the collections of both the National Library of Israel (1874) as well as the Israel Museum (1875). Indeed even non-illuminated Kethuboth from Hebron of the 19th-century are of exceptional rarity. Although never numbering more than 1,500 Jews in population, Hebron, one of the Four Holy Cities of the Land of Israel, is the site of the oldest Jewish community in the world - dating back to Biblical times. A Kethubah of the greatest importance.