GI, Hanukkah Lamp, Silver: mold-pressed, repoussé, appliqué, and cast, 1712-49
Object Name:
Hanukkah Lamp
Artist/Maker:
GI
Place Made:
Venice (Italy)
Date:
1712-49
Medium:
Silver: mold-pressed, repoussé, appliqué, and cast
Dimensions:
12 7/8 × 9 15/16 × 5 1/2 in. (32.7 × 25.2 × 14 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Dr. Harry G. Friedman (?)
Accession Number:
F 3579

Not On View

Menorah-form lamps were much less common in Italy than the hanging bench types. Small lamps such as this were in use in synagogues, in contrast to the massive copper-alloy Hanukkah lamps seen in northern and Eastern Europe. This Baroque-style silver lamp combines the traditional, labor-intensive method of repoussé in the base with a less expensive technique used for the arms. In repoussé, the silversmith hammers out, freehand, a raised design from the back. The arms on this lamp, however, were made in two separate pieces, a front and a back, which were hammered into a mold. The joints between the two halves were distinguished by the application of leaves. These were first steps toward the die-stamping and factory production of the nineteenth century.

Information may change as a result of ongoing research.

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