Obj. ID: 39155
Sacred and Ritual Objects  Hanukkah lamp, Vienna, circa 1890

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.

A fine example of the superb silverwork done in late-19th-century Austria. During these decades the many silversmiths of Vienna demonstrated a spectacular mastry of silversmithing techniques. The extreme level of fine detailing was a defining feather of Vienna silver objects from this period. There are quite a few examples of this work in such lamps, but this one contains an unusual feature: the two lion heads on each side of the crown. There exist Torah shields that carry such heads, but this is the only recorded Chanukah lamp with this feature. Vienna at this time was the center of hand-crafted silver production in Central Europe and supplied Jewish ritual objects to all areas of the Empire, near and far.

While the exact silver mark "J L" does not appear in the Vienna silvermark book of Neuwirth, it would appear to be one Josef Lustig who was active during the last quarter of the 19th century. The highly stylized intials in the center are likely those of the owner for whom the lamp was fashioned.