LEHMAN/
FIGDOR HANUKKAH LAMP
Germany or Italy, 14th century
Bronze, cast
Hanukkah is called the Feast of Re-dedication, and in the lighting the menorah
one is re-enacting the rekindling of the light in the Temple, which the architectural
references embody. The grotesque animal in the center medallion has been interpreted
as a salamander, the symbol of fire, or as a phoenix, the bird that is reborn
from its own ashes. Both interpretation provide appropriate metaphors for the
lighting of a Hanukkah lamp. The inscription below the medallions is the verse
"For the commandment is a lamp and Torah is light."
Before being acquired by the Lehman family, this rare, medieval lamp belonged
in the collection of Dr. Albert Figdor of Vienna.
Bequest of Judge Irving Lehman, 1945
