RARISSIVE HANUKA LAMP IN BRONZE France, 13th / 14th century
H_16 cm W_16.5 cm
This triangular lamp is ...

RARISSIVE HANUKA LAMP IN BRONZE France, 13th / 14th century
H_16 cm W_16.5 cm
This triangular lamp is topped by an openwork trilobe, and decorated with a rosette motif and a series of twelve arcades. Originally, this lamp had nine oil spouts, the one on the outside left
- which served as a "chamach" - was probably deliberately removed.
The rose window is typical of the facades of French churches of the Middle Ages (13th and 14th centuries).
The twelve arches probably represent the twelve months of the year, corresponding to the wish that the light of Hanukkah should shine throughout the year. Another possible meaning is that the arches represent the twelve tribes of Israel.
The lamp consists of two parts cast separately in two different moulds and then riveted together with three metal pins. The rivets have been worked to fit into the piece without creating any relief. Comparison of this work with a similar 13th-century Hanukkah lamp in the Bezalel National Museum in Jerusalem suggests that our lamp may have come from the same casting mould.
The dimensions and specific shapes of the ornaments are in fact consistent. See : M. Narkiss - "The Hanukkah Lamp", Jerusalem, 1939, plate V, no. 16.
The 9th spout at the left end has also been removed from the lamp in the collection of the Bezalel Museum in Jerusalem. This is probably due to changing customs regarding the location of the servant. Initially, the servant was placed on the same level as the other lights, and was then either set aside as a separate object or raised above the eight lights.
These two lamps are almost identical, except for the trilobe at the top of the triangle which is broken on the Bezalel Museum in Jerusalem.
This lamp is exceptionally rare, as there are very few Judaica objects from the Middle Ages known to exist today. It was submitted for analysis to the Art in Lab laboratory in Montrouge, France to confirm its supposed 14th century date. According to the conclusions of their April 2021 report (ref. 2021-0401), "the percentage of mineral elements composing the candlestick was compared with the alloys of 14th century French artifacts: the analysis of the data shows that the composition of the examined candlestick alloy is compatible with that of 14th century copper alloys in France
."
See: Art et archéologie des juifs en France médiévale, Editions Edouard
Privat, 1980, pages 187 to 204.