Unique Silver Hanukkah Lamp with Depiction of Judith Holding the Head of Holofernes, by Silversmith Johann Ernst ...

Unique Silver Hanukkah Lamp with Depiction of Judith Holding the Head of Holofernes, by Silversmith Johann Ernst Braungart – Breslau, Germany (Today, Wrocław, Poland), 1761-1776 – Rare Model

Silver, repoussé, punched, and engraved.
Hallmarks: · Maker's mark, the initials "IEB", for Johann Ernst Braungart (active in Breslau, 1754-1793); · Municipal mark of the city of Breslau; · The date-letter "G" – 1761-1776; · The initials "FW" in script – Prussian tax mark, in use beginning in 1809; · Later Dutch tax mark, in use in the years 1893-1905.
At the center of the back plate is a large depiction of an eight-branched Hanukkah menorah, encircled by a large cartouche composed of rocailles and vegetal patterns. To the right is the figure of Judith, holding a long sword in her right hand, and the severed head of Holofernes (a Chaldean general at the head of the army of Nebuchadnezzar) in her left. Judith’s maidservant appears on the left side of the back panel, holding a burning torch in her right hand, and a pitcher of oil in her left. Attached to the lower part of the back plate is a row of oil fonts shaped like elongated spoons, with tabs inside them for the wicks. The row of oil fonts is fastened to the back plate with screws, and is suspended above a drip pan with a rim whose undulations are designed to accommodate the oil fonts. A matching, removable servant light with a handle is attached to the lamp by means of a holder, soldered onto the upper left surface of the back plate. The lamp is supported on four leaf-shaped legs.

Height: 29 cm. Width: 26 cm. Depth: 8 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes to one of the supporting legs, with old soldering repairs. Minor hole and old soldering repairs to upper left side of back plate, probably as result of relocation of the servant light. Slight damage to edges of the back plate, near the servant light. Three original bolts oמ back side of back plate. Greenish staining to oil fonts.

For similar Hanukkah lamps bearing depictions of Judith, see: The Israel Museum Collection, item no. B86.0029, 118/869 (The Stieglitz Collection, item no. 135); The Jewish Museum, New York, item no. JM 26-64; Sotheby’s, New York, December 14, 2011, lot no. 12.

Regarding the works of the silversmith Johann Ernst Braungart, several Torah shields and a single Torah finial are known to be extant; see: Grafman, Crowning Glory: item no. 267; and Center for Jewish Art (CJA), the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, item no. 37298.
Exhibitions:
1. Glasgow, Festival of Jewish Arts Exhibition, McLellan Galleries, 1951, item no. 240.
2. Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Basel, JMS 1054.
Provenance:
1. Collection of Solomon David Schloss (1815-1911).
2. Lewis Raphael Castle (1858-1932), son of the above.
3. Peter Castle (1922-2011), grandson of the above.
4. Heirs of the above.
This item appears in the inventory list of the Schloss Collection, dated 1923 (see appendix, pp. 146-148), and is documented in a 1931 collection photograph (see p. 11).