Obj. ID: 37401
Sacred and Ritual Objects Hanukkah lamp, Thessaloniki (Salonika), circa 1900
The following description was prepared by William Gross:
The festival of Chanukah is celebrated in the winter period around December and commemorates a Biblical story in which the Jews of the Land of Israel rebel against the Greek occupiers. They reclaim the desecrated Holy Temple in Jerusalem and, miraculously, the small amount of pure oil remaining is enough to keep the Temple light going for eight days. Lamps with eight burners are lit during this holiday, both in the synagogue and at home. Through the centuries, such lamps have taken a wide variety of forms.
In its scrolling vine design, the backplate of this cast brass Chanukah menorah reveals Italian antecedents. This lamp was used extensively in the Ottoman areas of Greece, such as Corfu, where the Italian influence was strong. But the primary use seems to have been in Salonika which had by far the most extensive Jewish population in the country, reaching 80,000 before the Holocaust. Examples are known with dates as early as the 18th century. Beneath the oil holders on this example is a catch basin formed from sheet brass for catching dripping overflow oil. This example is inscribed with what was probably the name of the owner, Rafael Halevy.
Inscription: Rafael Halevi