Obj. ID: 39148  Hanukkah lamp, Fes (Fez), circa 1930

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.

 This Chanukah menorah is crafted with beautiful pierced work in silver. Other similarly-made lamps, probably by the same workshop, have different backplate designs in varying Islamic art styles, and have bird images on top rather than the "hamsa" hands present in this example.  Additionally, the overall patterns in this example are unusual, reflecting the typical Moroccan/Andalusian motifs found in architecture, particularly in mosque decoration. The pattern of the backplate is found in buildings in carved wood, plaster and marble.  The workmanship and finish indicate that the lamp was made in Fez, where there was at least one workshop that specialized in this cut-out technique and design. Other objects made in this technique in Fez are mezuzah covers, tallit containers, amulets, Sabbath lamps and memorial lamps.  Most of the objects in this style appear to have been created during the period from the 1920's and 1930's. Silver lamps from Morocco are rare as the overwhelming majority of Chanukah Menorahs are make in either sheet or cast brass.