Brass Hanukkah Lamp For Glasses

From card: "Open work with crescents, birds and hands. On one of the latter the Hebrew inscription: "A fruitful tree is Joseph" (Genesis 49,28). Loan: Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, 10.21.69. Returned August 14, 1970. Loaned to the Maurice Spertus Museum of Judaica 10-10-74. Returned March 19, 1975."

Illustrated and described in Grossman, Grace Cohen and Richard Eighme Ahlborn, 1997, "Judaica at the Smithsonian: Cultural Politics as Cultural Model" Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology. Vol. 52, p. 163. Identified there as Iraq, 19th century: "This lamp incorporates motifs reflecting its Middle Eastern origins. The overall architectural form of the back wall is that of a facade of a domed building resting on four pillars, the scalloped arch providing a decorative element. The crescent moon and stars are apparently drawn from Islamic symbolism. The hamsa, or hand ... is a popular amuletic device among both Jews and Moslems [Muslims], used to banish evil powers. On this lamp, the hamsa motif is used five times, thereby geometrically increasing the power against the evil eye. On the largest hamsa is an inscription in Hebrew: "Joseph is a fruitful vine" (Genesi 49:22). This quote is popular on amulets because of the allusion in the second phrase of the verse, "A fruitful vine by a fountain [ayin]." The Hebrew word for "eye" is also ayin; therefore the text is thought to be a good protection against the evil eye. Glass cups, now missing, were used to hold the oil for lighting the Hanukkah lamp."

30 Jul 2020

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