Lot 221
Two Large Stone Sabbath Lamps – Yemen
Two Sabbath oil lamps ("mesrejeh"). Yemen, [19th century or earlier].
Soapstone (steatite), chiseled; iron handles.
Two star-shaped oil lamps, one ten-pointed, the other eight-pointed (in some parts of Yemen, lamps such as these also served as Hanukkah lamps). Both lamps include a metal handle, screwed into a knob at the center of the oil pan, for carrying and suspension.
Diameter: 22 cm; 25.5 cm. Good condition. Minor fractures.
Reference: The Yemenites, Two Thousand Years of Jewish Culture, pp. 172-73.
