Hanukkah Lamp

This Hanukkah lamp is a fine example of the Rococo style, commissioned during its heyday in the mid-eighteenth century. The use of the rocaille and C-scrolls around the edges and the asymmetry of the shape of the backplate as well as of the shield in the center are all characteristic of Rococo. The lamp is not the typical Dutch hanging type, but was given legs so it could be placed on a table. Although many table lamps also had hanging devices, none were found on this lamp. In addition, the receptacles for containing the oil are completely different from those on most Dutch lamps, which consist of a removable row of pear-shaped containers with a drip pan below. This example, however, has a fixed box with internal divisions. These details suggest a strong connection to German silver lamps of the eighteenth century (e.g., nos. 15 and 16). It is therefore possible that this lamp was made for a member of the Ashkenazi Jewish community of The Hague, and based on German prototypes.
The Ashkenazi Jews of the Netherlands arrived from Germany and Poland beginning around 1620. They started out very impoverished, but by the eighteenth century, some had achieved economic success as traders, foreign exchange brokers, and diamond brokers for royal courts. One of these wealthy Jews of The Hague probably commissioned this beautifully executed lamp.