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Contrato de matrimonio Manuel Levy Duarte

AN IMPORTANT ILLUSTRATED MARRIAGE CONTRACT, AMSTERDAM, 1660
Ink on parchment, (16 x 13 1/4 in.; 408 x 335 mm).
The decorative motifs include a rounded archway supported by a pair of columns encircled with vines. Above, two cherubs hold a drapery aloft which is inscribed with the word "be-siman tov" (with a good sign). The side panels are composed of large urns with blossoming flowers interspersed with birds and insects. At the top of the right side panel is an image of a man and a woman clasping hands, representing the bridal couple. At the top of the left panel is a depiction of the allegory of the virtue "charity" represented by an image of a woman and two babies.
LITERATURE
Edgar Samuel, "Manuel Levy Duarte (1631-1714): an Amsterdam merchant jeweler and his trade with London" in At the End of the Earth: essays on the history of the Jews in England and Portugal. (London, 2004); Shalom Sabar,"The Golden Age of Ketubbah decoration in Venice and Amsterdam" in The Ghetto in Venice: Ponentini, Levantini e Tedeschi, 1516-1797. Julie-Marthe Cohen Ed. (Amsterdam, 1990); Shalom Sabar, Ketubbah: Jewish Marriage Contracts of the Hebrew Union College Skirball Museum and Klau Library, (New York, 1990) pp. 265-270.
NOTE
Recording the marriage of Immanuel, son of Gabriel ha-Levi (also known as Manuel Levy Duarte) to Devorah, daughter of Immanuel Abolias (also known as Constancia Duarte) on Monday 8 Tishrei 5421 (September 13, 1660).
This superb, engraved ketubbah is one of the earliest surviving examples of a highly popular style of decorated ketubbot. Dr. Shalom Sabar has demonstrated that the design of this ketubbah is associated with the most famous Jewish artist of the seventeenth century, Shalom d'Italia. In his research, Dr. Sabar has noted that around 1648 Shalom d'Italia created two copper-etchings to be used as borders for marriage contracts. Several years later, an anonymous artist copied one of these ketubbot making only small changes to the original design. This copy was printed in Amsterdam and was used by members of the Sephardic Jewish community throughout Europe and America. Only four early copies of this ketubbah have survived dating from 1659-1663). This document is the second of those four copies.
Manuel Levy, the groom, (1631-1714) was a member of one of the richest and most prominent Portuguese Jewish families in Amsterdam. Born in 1631, he was a talented student, fluent in several languages. He followed in the footsteps of his relatives and entered into the diamond trade. In 1660 he married Constancia Duarte and as was the custom, added her maiden name to his own. The following year Manuel's good friend, Jacob Athias, married Constancia's sister, Gracia. Manuel and Jacob went into the diamond trade as partners under the name "Athias and Levy" and their business in diamonds, pearls and semi-precious gems flourished. After his wife's death in 1690, Manuel moved to Antwerp and in 1696 to The Hague where he lived until his death in 1714.

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