Obj. ID: 37434
  Sacred and Ritual  Hanukkah lamp, India, circa 1875

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.

Hardly any sheet metal Chanukah menorahs are known from India. This example, depicting elephants in two roundels at the sides of the backplate, is a very unusual example and may well be unique. The solid line of metal down the middle of the backplate and the triangular form of the burners are strong hints as to the Indian origin of the lamp as well as the images of elephants, a perhaps unique use of this animal in the decoration of a Chanukah lamp.