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Baraffael Family Hanukkah Lamp

1773–75
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556
This rare and sumptuous silver lamp was commissioned by the wealthy Baraffael family in Rome. Their crest, a rooster grasping a stalk of wheat, is embossed near the top. A tipped oil jug and a lit nine-stem candelabrum known as a hanukiah suggest the lamp’s use during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The bees circling the jug are a moving tribute to one of the family members, Deborah (Hebrew for "bee"), who died in 1763.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Baraffael Family Hanukkah Lamp
  • Maker: Gaspare Vanneschi (Italian, active Rome, 1758–1787)
  • Date: 1773–75
  • Culture: Italian, Rome
  • Medium: Silver, embossed, engraved, punched; soft wood back support
  • Dimensions: confirmed: 16 9/16 × 11 9/16 × 3 3/4 in. (42 × 29.4 × 9.5 cm)
  • Classifications: Judaica, Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Acquisitions Fund, Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts Gifts, Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer, Leon D. and Debra R. Black, Betsy and Ed Cohen/Arete, Mark Fisch and Rachel Davidson, Álvaro Saieh Bendeck, Ruth and Andrew Suzman, Ann Tenenbaum and Thomas H. Lee, and Merryl H. and James S. Tisch Gifts, 2018
  • Object Number: 2018.89
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Archlute, David Tecchler Austrian, active Italy, Spruce, ebony, ivory, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, Italian
Archlute
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Hanukkah lamp, Silver, embossed and engraved, German, Hamburg
Hanukkah lamp
German, Hamburg
late 17th century
Cabinet, Jean Brandely French, Oak veneered with cedar, walnut, ebony and ivory; silvered-bronze mounts, French, Paris
Cabinet
Designer Designed by Jean Brandely
Woodwork by Charles-Guillaume Diehl
Mounts and large central plaque by Emmanuel Frémiet
1867
Guitar, Giacomo (Jacob) Ertel German, Spruce, ebony, fruitwood, bone, ivory, mother-of-pearl, parchment, Italian
Guitar
Attributed to Giacomo (Jacob) Ertel
late 17th century
Hanukkah lamp, August Ferdinand Gentzmer German, Silver, embossed, German, Berlin
Hanukkah lamp
August Ferdinand Gentzmer
1788

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