Objects

Hanukkah is the eight-day Festival of Lights, commemorating the victory of Judah Maccabee's insurgents over the Syrian army in 165 BCE. After the Jerusalem Temple had been cleansed of pagan worship and the altar had been rededicated, only one vessel containing the ritual oil used to light the tabernacle was found. Thanks to the miracle of the cruse of oil, as tradition tells, the oil lasted for eight days, until a new batch could be produced. During Hanukkah, one more candle is lit each day in an eight-branched candelabrum called a hanukkiah, which is placed in the windows or in front of the doors of Jewish homes. The candles are lit by the eldest male in the family. During the holiday, one should not work or even study Torah. Fasting is also forbidden (A. Unterman, Żydzi. Wiara i życie, Lodz 1989, pp. 223-225).

The Hanukkah lamp from the collection of the Museum in Łowicz is made of brass. It consists of a base divided into eight troughs (containers for oil) and a decorative, openwork wall (with a motif of a palmette and two lions supporting a cartouche with a double-headed eagle beneath a crown), as well as two bobèches with sleeves for candles. The elements are connected with butterfly screws. The item is not marked.

Lamps of this type were commonly used during the eight-day celebration of the holiday of Hanukkah (Feast of Dedication). The holiday commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian kings in 166 BCE. and the rededication of the Jerusalem Temple in 165 BCE.