Obj. ID: 37521  Hanukkah lamp, Italy, circa 1650

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 form of Chanukah lamp appears in three places: Poland, Morocco, and Italy, as in this example. This particular form is said to be from Sicily, as identified by Mordechai Narkiss in his classic book about the Chanukah lamp from 1939. The connection of the lamps in these three places has not been established. The rich, thick patina on this lamp attests to its age and would place it in the original source location of Sicily. Obviously such lamps of early date are rare.