Two-tiered Hanukkah lamp, to be kindled by two individuals. Alsace (Upper Rhineland), [19th century].
Aluminum sheet and brass sheet, cut, stamped, and soldered.
Back plate in form of tapered arch with large, prominent, crescent-shaped ornament at center. Six gilt ornaments are soldered onto the front of the back plate: one round ornament in the center in the form of a floral wreath encircling a button, flanked on either side by two plain circular ornaments; and underneath this, in the center of the crescent, a smaller round ornament with the rays of the sun encircling what appears to be a human face, flanked on either side by two six-point-star-shaped ornaments. The bottom half of the lamp consists of a deep, broad drip pan which houses two horizontal bars, each supporting a full, removable row of wavy-edged oil fonts, with pinched, pointed spouts for the wicks. The lamp is supported by two broad, rectangular legs.
The two tiers of the Hanukkah lamp enable kindling by two individuals – a father and son, for instance. This feature – in addition to the two six-point-star-shaped ornaments, the moon and the sun, appearing on the back plate – points to the Upper Rhineland as the place of origin for this lamp.

Height: 29.5 cm. Width: 28 cm. Overall good condition. No servant light. Some corrosion.

For comparison, see:

1. Les Juifs d'Alsace: Village, Tradition, Emancipation, by Ester Muchawsky-

Schnapper, exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1991, item

no. 35 (French and Hebrew).

2. Five Centuries of Hanukkah Lamps from The Jewish Museum: A Catalogue

Raisonné, by Susan Braunstein. New Haven and London, The Jewish

Museum, New York, Yale University Press, 2004, p. 325, item nos. 235, 237,

238.

Exhibitions:

1. Reise an kein Ende der Welt, Vienna, Jüdisches Museum Wien, 2001.

2. Jodendom: een boek vol verhalen. Amsterdam, De Nieuwe Kerk, 2011-

2012.

A photograph of the present Hanukkah lamp has also appeared in the

following publications:

1. Mekorot ve-Toldot Inyanei Chanukkah, by Daniel Sperbe. Jerusalem,

Mossad ha-Rav Kook, Jerusalem, 1995, (Hebrew with some English).

2. A Mosaic of Israel's Traditions: Unity Through Diversity, by Esther Shkalim.

Jerusalem, Devora Publishing, 2006.

Provenance: The Gross Family Collection, Tel Aviv, No. 010.020.002.

This Hanukkah lamp is documented on the Center for Jewish Art (CJA)

website, item no. 37409.