Hanukkah Is Coming: A Rare and Magnificent Eastern European Silver Hanukkah Lamp, 1920s

08 Nov Hanukkah Is Coming: A Rare and Magnificent Eastern European Silver Hanukkah Lamp, 1920s

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THE FARKASH GALLERY IS PROUD TO PRESENT

As Hanukkah approaches, Farkash Gallery presents a magnificent silver Hanukkah lamp, suited to a Judaica collection and to the home. The lamp is identified by the gallery as Eastern European, from the 1920s.

According to tradition, after the victory of the Maccabees and the rededication of the Temple, a single cruse of pure oil was found, enough to light the menorah for one day only. That oil burned for eight days. In memory of the miracle of the cruse of oil, lights are kindled in the Hanukkah lamp for eight nights: one light on the first night, adding one each evening, until all eight lights burn on the eighth night.

The Hanukkah lamp is customarily placed at the entrance of the home or in a window, to publicize the miracle. In this way the light kindled in the Jewish home is visible outside as well. The lighting, the blessings and the gathering around it connect the ancient story to the tradition passed from generation to generation.

Hanukkah is also a festival of bravery and courage, recalling Judah Maccabee and the Jewish people’s struggle for freedom. In this spirit we honor today our heroic soldiers, who watch over us and defend our home.

Judaica objects from pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe also carry deep historical meaning. Many Jewish communities were destroyed in the Holocaust, and alongside the loss of human life there was an enormous loss of material heritage: synagogues, books and ritual objects. The Nazis systematically confiscated and looted Jewish property, including silver items used in homes and in synagogues.

As early as 1939, Jews throughout the German Reich were forced to hand over the silver objects in their possession. Most of the silver confiscated in this framework was melted down, and only a small part reached public collections. Not all Judaica items were lost, but the confiscation, looting and destruction caused a heavy cultural loss. Objects that survived from that Jewish world testify to the silversmiths’ craft, to community life and to the tradition of the Jewish home.

The lamp is built as a richly ornamented architectural structure. At the top, a crown and a pair of lions; at its center, the Tablets of the Law with Hebrew inscriptions; above them an oval plaque bearing the Hanukkah candle-lighting blessing. The ornaments also incorporate symbols of the Twelve Tribes and the pillars of the Temple. The lamp has a shamash and an oil jug. Decorated columns on both sides, floral ornaments and reliefs surround the structure and continue to the broad base.

The ornaments are handmade in repoussé. The entire lamp is made of solid silver (SOLID SILVER), with pure-gold-plated elements. At the bottom are eight hollow oil cups, intended for oil and wicks.

What is written on the lamp?
The upper plaque bears the Hanukkah candle-lighting blessing. In its full, standard wording:
“Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light.”
The engraving itself includes abbreviations and defective spelling, and some of the letters are stylized.

The Tablets of the Law bear Hebrew excerpts of the Ten Commandments:
Right tablet: אנכי ה׳, לא יהיה לך, לא תשא, זכור את, כבד את.
Left tablet: לא תרצח, לא תנאף, לא תגנב, לא תענה, לא תחמד.

A similar Hanukkah lamp is held in the collection of the Jewish Museum in Stockholm, Sweden: museum record – DigitaltMuseum, Judiska museet.

We have chosen to leave the lamp uncleaned, to preserve the natural patina of the silver and its authentic look. The lamp can be cleaned at the buyer’s request.

Farkash Gallery guarantees the lamp as 100% authentic. It is accompanied by the gallery’s original certificate of authenticity.