'Cherubim'
Papercut Ketubah

Design and Lettering by Peggy H. Davis

This is an example of a custom-designed, hand-lettered, papercut and painted ketubah by Peggy H. Davis.

This couple came to their first meeting with the artist armed with numerous ideas and picture sources. They had a photo of an Italian ketubah which provided the floral trellis border, photos of two styles of cherubim which were combined to make those you see here, and ideas for the four papercut circles, representing the mikvah, the chuppah, home (Shabbes candles) and the groom's profession, butcher, represented by the lion, the symbol of the Jewish butchers of Prague. The crown over the text is a Yemenite wedding crown in the museum of the synagogue in which they were married. The circles in the center of each side of the border are papercut designs, with a rose-colored paper showing through the cut areas.

The text is arranged to reflect the way a page of Torah or Talmud is set up with commentaries surrounding the main text.

Please note: This illustration is from a photograph of the ketuba taken with uneven lighting and the colors are not faithful reproductions of the original.

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