Hanukkah Lamp – Germany, Augsburg or Hanau, 19th Century – “Frankfurt Type”

Hanukkah Lamp – Germany, Augsburg or Hanau, 19th Century – “Frankfurt Type”

Silver, repoussé, cast, and engraved; remnants of gilt.
Hallmarks: fragmentary marks bearing a pinecone emblem, apparently false.
The back plate is adorned with a pair of rampant lions flanking a seven-branched Menorah surmounted by a large royal crown. The rim of the back plate is decorated with rocailles and acanthus leaves. In front is a rectangular container consisting of eight oil fonts and covered with a hinged lid and supported by four legs shaped like crouched lions. The removable servant light is positioned on top of a spiralling rod.
This lamp is representative of a style that was prevalent in Frankfurt in the 18th century, and is particularly reminiscent of Hanukkah lamps created by the silversmith Rötger (Rüdiger) Herfurth (see lot no. 16 in the present catalogue). Items such as these are also known to have been made in Berlin, Hanau, and Hamburg, as noted by Mordechai Narkiss ("The Hanukkah Lamp", Jerusalem, 1939, p. 62).

Height: 16 cm. Width: 17 cm. Good condition.

For comparison, see: The Jewish Museum New York, item nos. JM 188-68, F 5237; The Stieglitz Collection, item nos. 136-137; Sotheby’s, New York, June 4, 1996, lot no. 67.

Exhibitions:

1. London, Anglo-Jewish Historical Exhibition, Royal Albert Hall, 1887, item no. 1742 (dated to the 17th century).
2. London, Exhibition of Jewish Art and Antiquities, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1906, either item nos. 232, 245, or 248.
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).