AN IMPORTANT ITALIAN SILVER CHANUKKAH LAMP

MARK OF GIUSEPPE VERNACCINI, MACERATA, CIRCA 1785

Details

AN IMPORTANT ITALIAN SILVER CHANUKKAH LAMP
Mark of Giuseppe Vernaccini, Macerata, circa 1785
The cartouche-form backplate chased and repoussé in a baroque style with shells, flowers and C-scrolls on a matted ground, centering a flower vase, with a row of eight oil fonts, fitted with matching servant light, with 19th century drip plate and pendant ring, marked on backplate, fonts and servant lamp; drip pan and pendant rings with marks for Venice, early 19th century
12¾in. (32.5cm.) high; 19oz. 10dwt. (621gr.)

Provenance

Christie's, Amsterdam, June 10, 1993, lot 657

Lot Essay

Finely embossed eighteenth century Italian silver Chanukkah lamps are extremely rare. Italian examples typically were constructed without drip plates, as they were hung against a wall. The drip plate on the present example is almost certainly a later addition, probably inspired by contemporary Dutch Chanukkah lamps.

A similar lamp is illustrated in Vivian B. Mann, ed., Gardens and Ghettoes: The Art of Jewish Life in Italy, 1989, p. 294, and in M. Narkiss, The Hanukkah Lamp, no. 54.

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