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Baraffael Family Hanukkah Lamp

1773–75
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 551
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: Metalwork-Silver, Judaica
  • 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

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