#papercut hamsa

The Hamsa is consistently a favorite motif for a ketubah. Utterly traditional, and so striking, I decided to introduce two new Hamsa based designs. I have made Hamsas before, but they have always been the main design element. This time I made the Hamsa the shape inside which the text goes, and reserved the main design for intricately patterned arabesques, which complement and push the Middle Eastern motif.

I used gold as an accent in both of these designs. i particularly like how it looks with the midnight blue behind the damask pattern. The openings are small so the gold layer just peeks through to add contrast. Each one of the holes has to line up just so in order to make this happen. The other design is a complex arabesque with four layers. The cool gray really works well to tone down the bright gold. Without it, the metallic layer would overpower everything, but the neutral scheme brings it all together harmoniously.

This type of ketubah, with an Arabesque or a Hamsa has a long tradition in Eastern (Mizrahi) Jewish communities, which were deeply influenced by the artistic traditions of the Islamic nations they belonged to. There are wonderful examples of ketubot such as these in the Israel National Library website that go back to the 1600s. It’s well worth a visit. Much of the artwork is stunning and the ketubot are all scanned in high resolution. If you’re curious, check it out at http://goo.gl/C7dY4q.

If you would like to see more examples of my work, please visit my website at www.papercutsbyoren.com or my Etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/papercutsbyoren