Obj. ID: 37407
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Hanukkah lamp, Jerusalem, 1980

The following description was prepared by William Gross:

Hanukkah lamp with rosette decoration, created at "Bezalel", "Sharar" Group. Jerusalem, [1912-1929]. Hammered brass. Marked in Hebrew: "Bezalel Yerushalem". Inspired by Hanukkah lamps from 14th century Spain or the south of France. Hanukkah lamp with triangular backplate, decorated with a rosette and horseshoe arches and the Hebrew inscription "These candles are holy". Drop-like oil fonts. No room for a shamash. Suspension loop (added later). On the back of the lamp is a small plaque with the inscription "Made in Palestine at the art workshop 'Sharar' Bezalel Jerusalem P.O.B 729".

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.

The Bezalel School, founded by Bezalel Schatz in 1906, energed in the first part of the 20th century as the leading designer and producer of Chanukah Lamps. Drawing on many sources, the school tried to create a new modern Jewish style for the production of ritual objects. This form, for example, draws upon the form and style of a medieval brass Chanukah lamp known in some three or four examples, with its triangular back, this abstract rose window and the row of arches below.

Inscription: Ha-Nerot ha-Lalu Kdosh Hem.....