Hanukkah lamp

This cheaper, and more widespread version of the traditional menorah designed for the holiday of Hanukkah was made of cast brass. On its backboard, two lions hold a shield with a crown, which says “ner hanukkah”, meaning the light of Hanukkah. The crown is a frequent symbol on Jewish ritual objects. Its form usually follows that of the local royal crown, in this case the crown of the Austro-Hungarian emperor. The committee of the museum purchased this simple brass item from a collection from the region of Pressburg (Pozsony / Bratislava), in order to be able to display a simple item among the eleven elaborately and delicately designed candelabra already in the collection at the time.