Large Hanukkah lamp. [Ukraine or Poland (Warsaw?), ca. mid-19th century].
Silvered copper and light metal, pierced, repoussé, stamped, cut and soldered; blue glass insets.
Impressive, large Hanukkah lamp, designed in the architectural style of Eastern European synagogue arks.
The lamp includes a wealth of intricate and unusual details: a central ark with double doors (functional), flanked by an eagle and two lions, with a niche above housing a small lamp.
Below the ark stands an elephant on a dedicated pedestal, flanked by various musical instruments.
Blue glass pieces are inlaid in the bases of the columns flanking the backplate. The row of oil fonts is positioned at the front, flanked by two decorated candleholders in the shape of large eels, possibly representing the mythic Leviathan.
Many of these unusual decorative elements (elephant, eels, musical instruments, etc.) are found in the art of Eastern European synagogues, particularly in Ukraine and Poland.
Another Hanukkah lamp, very similar in both design and dimensions (made of silver), by silversmith Kazimierz Klimaszewski (active in Warsaw, 1830-1851), is preserved in the collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, item L-B80.0146 (118/117).
Height: 50 cm. Max. width: 56.5 cm; depth: 24 cm. Overall good condition. Minor bends and blemishes. Several ornaments or parts lacking or damaged. Some joints loose, or missing clasps and pins.
Provenance: Sotheby’s, New York, 4 June 1996, Lot 64.
