Objects

Hanukkah lamp (hannukiyah)

Hanukkah is the eight-day Festival of Lights, commemorating the victory of Judah Maccabee's insurgents over the Syrian army in 165 BC. After the Temple in Jerusalem 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. According to tradition, this ritual oil was sufficient, by a miracle, for eight days, until a new batch was produced (M. Siemieński, Księga świąt i obyczajów żydowskich, Warsaw 1993, pp. 73–74).

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, Łódź 1989, pp. 223–225).

The Hanukkah lamp from the collection of the Vistula Museum in Kazimierz Dolny has a rectangular base with eight vase-shaped burners, supported by four legs formed from acanthus leaves and oval cabochons with pearls around them. It has a high rectangular backplate with a relief decoration at the edges of heavily repoussed fleshy acanthus leaves. In the central part of the backplate, there is a massive menorah supported by two lions standing on their hind legs. On one side, there is an olive oil jug, on the other one - a shammes (an additional, ninth arm for a candle).

The item was made in 1984, on a special order of the Museum of Goldsmithing Art (a branch of the Vistula Museum in Kazimierz Dolny) to commemorate the Jewish community in Kazimierz, it was purchased from the author, Józef Fajngold, in 1987.

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Information about the object
Author / creator
Fajngold, Józef (1910-1998)
Object type
handicrafts
Place of creation
Warszawa (mazovian province)
Technique
forging
soldering
Material
silver
Keywords
Copyrights status
the object is not protected by copyright law
Owner
Goldsmithing Art Museum. Branch of Nadwiślańskie Museum in Kazimierz Dolny
Identification number
MSZK/522