Obj. ID: 37431
Sacred and Ritual Objects Hanukkah lamp, Sefrou (Séfrou), circa 1920
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.
Almost all Chanukah lamps made in Morocco are either of artisan worked sheet brass or of sand cast brass. This is a small version of the typical cast brass lamps with arabesque decoration and birds above. It was most probably cast in Sefrou, which appears to be the source of most cast brass lamps from Morocco. The overall triangular form is quite common among such objects as are the row of Arabesque arches just above the burners.
sub-set tree:
H | Heraldic composition | Supporters | Two birds
F | Flower
O | Ornamentation: | Ornament
H | Hanukkah
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