Auction 109 Books | Letters and Manuscripts | Megillot and Jewish Ceremonial Art
Large Silver Baroque Hanukkah Lamp to be Hung in a Synagogue – Venice, First Half of 18th Century
Opening: $30,000
Sold for: $112,500
Including buyer's premium
Hanukkah lamp for the synagogue. Venice, first half of 18th century.
Silver, repoussé and engraved (several hallmarks of Venice [the lion of St. Mark] and assayer's marks of Zuanne Premuda, active 1712-1749, the letters "ZP" around a bird);
wood; iron sheet.
wood; iron sheet.
Rare and large Venetian Hanukkah lamp, in baroque style, meant to be hung in the synagogue. Made of a large silver sheet, with repoussé vegetal patterns, rocailles and acanthus leaves in characteristic baroque design. The shamash and eight fonts are affixed to the edges of hooked suspenders and stylized as small bowls with pinched spouts. The back side is affixed to a thick contemporary wooden board, meant to be hung on a wall, with an iron suspender at top.
Silver Hanukkah lamps from 18th-century Italy are especially rare, as most lamps from the period were produced from brass or bronze and meant for home usage. Most known silver Hanukkah lamps of 18th-century Italy were produced in Rome, with a design somewhat different from that of the present lamp, and most are held in museum collections, with only a few lamps privately owned.
The present lamp is therefore unique in a number of ways: firstly in its exceptional and unusual design and dimensions, secondly as it was intended for synagogue use (as opposed to home), thirdly in its Venetian provenance (as opposed to Rome), and fourthly in its relatively early dating.
This lamp's decorations are reminiscent of the style of decorations featured on Hebrew books printed in Venice in the 18th century, some of which were presumably produced in the same workshop as the present lamp. A similar style of repoussé decorations appears in other contemporary silver Judaica objects, such as Torah decorations and spiceboxes.
Accordingly, the silver assayer Zuanne Premuda's mark appears on several contemporary Judaica objects, including: Jewish silver bindings
(Kedem, 5 February 2023,
Lot 116;
12 February 2024
, Lot 36;
Sotheby's,
20 December 2017,
Lot 71;
14 December 2011
, Lot 19), a synagogue lamp (Sotheby's, 14 December 2011
, Lot 40), a spicebox (Bonhams,
21 November 2007
, Lot 186) and a pair of Torah finials and crown (former Steinhardt Collection, Sotheby's,
29 April 2013
, Lot 77).
(Kedem, 5 February 2023,
Lot 116;
12 February 2024
, Lot 36;
Sotheby's,
20 December 2017,
Lot 71;
14 December 2011
, Lot 19), a synagogue lamp (Sotheby's, 14 December 2011
, Lot 40), a spicebox (Bonhams,
21 November 2007
, Lot 186) and a pair of Torah finials and crown (former Steinhardt Collection, Sotheby's,
29 April 2013
, Lot 77).
For other silver lamps of 18th-century Italy, see: Museum of Italian Jewish Art, Jerusalem, ON 0383, ON 1404; Jewish Museum of Rome, inv. 284 (1941), 461 (1904), inv. 216 (1941), 339 (1904), inv. 211 (1941), 70 (1904); North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, 2024.18.1; Metropolitan Museum, New York, 2018.89; Jewish Museum of New York, S 262.
Another lamp, with design reminiscent of the present lamp, is the Hanukkah lamp of the Matir Asurim society of Florence (Florence Jewish community collection), exhibited at the Gardens and Ghettos exhibition in the Jewish Museum in New York (see exhibition catalog, 1989, no. 191).
Height: 40.5 cm, width: 48.5 cm, depth: approx. 11.5 cm. Fair-good condition. Minor fractures, warping and old soldering repairs to silver, mainly to edges of lamp and its decorations. Some punctures on back side, indicating lacking nails. Warping and soldering repair to oil font suspenders. Rust to back side of screw nuts. Piece lacking and rift on wooden base. Remnants of paint and plaster on wooden base. The lamp is accompanied by a large round, painted iron drip pan (possibly somewhat later), which had been affixed to bottom of outer back side, with screws and nuts of oil font hangers. Rust, warping and fractures to drip pan.
References: Donaver-Dabbene, Argenti italiani del Settecento (2000), no. 412; Consacrati al Signore, Argenti del Museo Ebraico di Roma, edited by Dora Liscia Bemporad and Davide Spagnoletto, Sillabe, Livorno, 2024, pp. 342-345.
Chanukah Lamps
Chanukah Lamps