The Document
The Hebrew text is written in ink on paper and is surrounded by decorative Iranian-Kurdish style borders painted in many colors. The condition of this document relates to the materials of which it is composed, environmental conditions, and cultural use (such as folding for storage.) The paper has become embrittled over time. Application of water based media and exposure to fluctuating humidity is associated with expansion and contraction of the sheet; the paper exhibits buckling which may be due to planar distortion. Both the ink and colored media are vulnerable to damage and loss from exposure to moisture which might cause them to dissolve and from dry conditions which could cause them to crack and flake. The custom of folding these documents and storing them in this format has contributed to creasing and the transfer of soluble media from one surface to another but it has also contributed to the safekeeping and preservation of this rare document.
Preservation Priorities and Challenges
Decisions concerning Conservation treatment depend on consideration of: the Library of Congress’s mission to preserve and access collections; potential use by the custodial division and the Interpretive Programs Office; preservation priorities and prudent allocation of resources; and judgements concerning degree and type of intervention necessary to repair existing damage and mitigate future damage. In the instance of this ketubbah the priority was to provide minimal intervention while maximizing the ability to safely display, study, and store the document.
Solubility testing (through measuring the results of controlled applications of minute amounts of water), as well as historic evidence of media transfer, provided warning that even the most careful introduction of moisture - to humidify and flatten the paper, to repair tears, and to consolidate media - could also introduce a significant element of risk. This challenge, in addition to the Preservation priorities, helped define the choice of Conservation treatment.
