Europe, Germany, ca. early 20th century CE. A dazzling silver menorah featuring a central spherical knob of flame motif surrounded by 8 scroll-like arms, all intricately decorated with relief floral and foliate motifs. The massive candelabra is rendered in an elaborate style reminiscent of Baroque art with a square base supported by 4 petite feet, a central baluster comprised of several varying tiers and eight undulating arms. Hanukkah menorahs or hanukkiahs are nine-branched candelabras used for the celebration of Hannukah; a holiday that serves as a metaphor for the survival of the Jewish faith. The holiday celebrates the end of a dark time, millennia ago, when Judaism was outlawed and the Temple of Jerusalem was deliberately profaned, desecrated by a conquering empire. Like all such lamps, this one was created for the symbolic reenactment of an ancient miracle, in which a single day's worth of sacred oil in the Temple lasted for eight. Size: 14.5" L x 28" W x 34.4" H (36.8 cm x 71.1 cm x 87.4 cm); silver quality: 88 to 90%; weight: 4.63 kg
This Hanukkah menorah bears witness to all that the holiday signifies, in sobering, profound ways that the silversmith who created it could never have foreseen. Made in the early 1900's, this candelabrum would have been subject to the anti-Jewish legislation of 1930's Nazi Germany. Many ritual objects like this one wound up in Nazi hands as the result of a 1939 law ordering Jews to surrender their precious metals and stones, often in exchange for just a fraction of their price. The law was one of a series of acts designed to strip Jews of their political and civil rights before the Nazi campaign of mass extermination, known as the Holocaust, began. Most of the confiscated silver went to pawn shops, and much of it was ultimately melted down and used to aid the Nazi war effort. Some of the items that were not melted were hidden or smuggled out of the country by the families who owned them; this example may be the result of such an effort.
Provenance: private Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA collection, purchased from GWS Auctions, April 30, 2016
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#185851
Condition
Missing the removable shamash or ninth candle with socketing loop present at center. Light surface wear as shown, but otherwise nice presentation with great detail and patina in areas. Stamped "800 / HANDARBEIT" (meaning "hand built" or handmade") on one foot.