SABBATH
AND FESTIVAL HANGING LAMP Master: Johann Adam Boller
Frankfurt, after 1706
Silver, traces of gilt, embossed; cutout, chased, castings
This five-tiered lamp was made in the famous Frankfurt workshop of Johann Adam
Boller, who became a master silversmith in 1706. The cutout and chased hunting
scene on the lowest tier with hunter, dogs, and two deer is perhaps based on
the hunting scene that appears as a mnemonic in Passover Haggadahs. The figures
on the second tier represent holidays and Sabbath: one figure holds a Hanukkah
menorah and pitcher; one holds a shofar and book for Rosh Hashanah; one holds
a scroll and rattle for Purim; one with matzah for Passover; and two Sabbath
figures are seen spice box and book. The third tier has four watchmen with lances
and the fourth tier carries trumpeters. The figures of the topmost tier are
three-dimensional and slightly larger than the others. They are the leaders:
David (with harp) and Moses (with Torah scroll) alternate with captains of the
guard. The cast-figure finial which crowns the lamp is of a knickered man with
a flattened Jewish hat holding a large round basket and is perhaps an allusion
to the patron's name.
Bequest of Judge Irving Lehman, 1945
