Lions and Flowers and Hanukkah Candles, Oh My! A Silver Menorah Visits The Met

Hanukkah lamp, 1866–72. Polish, Lviv (Lvov or Lemberg). Silver: cast, chased and engraved, 33 9/16 x 23 1/8 in. (85.3 x 58.7 cm). On loan from The Moldovan Family Collection

Celebrate the holiday season at The Met with a visit to a spectacular silver Hanukkah lamp, generously on loan from the Moldovan Family Collection, on view in gallery 556 through December 2018. Both beautiful and functional, this remarkable lamp was created in 1866 through 1872 in Lemberg (Lviv), Eastern Europe. Its rich history connects the lamp to centuries of Hanukkah celebrations across Jewish communities throughout the world.

The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah begins this year on the evening of Sunday, December 2, and ends at sundown on Monday, December 10. The central ceremony of Hanukkah is the lighting of a Hanukkah lamp, also known as a menorah. During the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, one candle is lit each night to commemorate the grand lamp that was lit in the Holy Temple, and to recall a miracle connected with that lamp, when one day's worth of oil lasted for eight days. The Hanukkah lamp has since become a common symbol of Jewish faith and identity.

This splendid silver lamp, in particular, reminds me of Rabbi Joseph Juspa Hahn of Nördligen's (ca. 1560–1637) recommendation, in his book on Jewish customs, to use a silver Hanukkah lamp when possible. With its enchanting display of elegance and dynamism, this particular menorah embodies the crucial concept of hiddur mitzvah, or the beautification of a Jewish ceremony through the use of beautiful objects. The lamp's sheer scale, its grandeur and brilliance, communicate its central role in the holiday and commemorate the majestic ancient lamp.

Detail of menorah with eagle

Detail of menorah with lion base and inscription

Rendered with a masterful design and exquisite artisanship, the Lemberg lamp is also striking for its mesmerizing details: A prominent eagle crowning the lamp greets viewers with outstretched wings, inviting one to delight in the lamp's miniature lively lions that mightily hold up its base. I particularly enjoy tracing the lamp's intricate flowers as an escape from the winter weather of the holiday season. To me, the lamp's lively nature and light beautifully represent the Hebrew inscription around its base, which reads: "With You is the fountain of life, by Your light do we see light (Psalms 36:10)."

I'll be imagining this marvelous lamp, with its silver radiance enhanced by flickering Hanukkah lights, as I light my own (smaller) Hanukkah lamp this year. The Met and the Department of European Sculpture of Decorative Arts are grateful to the Moldovan family for sharing their Hanukkah lamp with the Museum, and its visitors, for another Hanukkah. It makes a wonderful companion to the magnificent Baraffael family Hanukkah lamp, which was recently acquired by the Museum and is now on view in gallery 508.

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The silver Hanukkah lamp is on view in gallery 556 through December 2018, and the Baraffael family Hanukkah lamp is on view in gallery 508.