Ketubah of Isaac Senior Teixeira and Rachel Senior de Mattos
Anonymous
1648
This ketubah was written for the wedding of Isaac Senior Teixeira (1631–1705) and Rachel Senior de Mattos. The wealthy Teixeira family (also known as Teixeira de Mattos or Teixeira de Sampayo), was given a noble title by the Spanish king in 1643. The large Teixeira family, Portuguese Jews who were formerly New Christians, had branches in many European cities (including Hamburg, Holland, London, Vienna, and Venice) as well as South America. Members of the family included philanthropists, merchants, financiers, diplomats, and scientists. The splendor of the illumination reflects the vast wealth of the two families united by the marriage. On the top of the texts, an elaborately dressed man and woman hold on either side a circular wreath in which a Hebrew inscription (Be-siman tov [“with a good omen”]) appears. A red heart with two arrows, one pointing to her and one to him, is situated below the wreath. Flowers and plants frame the texts in Aramaic and Hebrew.
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