Hanukkah lamp
On View In:
Gallery 362
Artist:   Rotger (Rudiger) Herfurth  
Title:   Hanukkah lamp  
Date:   c. 1760  
Medium:   Silver  
Dimensions:   7 x 8 3/4 x 3 1/8 in. (17.78 x 22.23 x 7.94 cm)  
Credit Line:   The Eloise and Elliot Kaplan Endowment for Judaica  
Location:   Gallery 362  

In 1711 the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt was destroyed by fire, prompting a resurgence of Jewish ceremonial art commissions. Roger Herfurth, a Christian silversmith, was uniquely positioned to take advantage of this demand, creating more than thirty documented works of ceremonial art for Jewish patrons. His Hanukkah lamp design features a chest-shaped container for oil, a solid back plate ornamented with repoussé shells and scrolls surrounding a Temple menorah, and rampant lions flanking a crowned cartouche. This form became so popular that it was replicated well into the 19th century and is still referred to as the "Frankfurt type."

Artist/Creator(s)     
Name:   Herfurth, Rotger (Rudiger)  
Role:   Silversmith  
Life Dates:   German, 1722-1776  
 

Object Description  
  
Inscriptions:   Mark and Label on back, partial label, in red: [15C?]; stamped on bottom front of back section and on lamp compartm  
Classification:   Judaica  
Physical Description:   back has openwork design with lions flanking a cartouche with a menorah; light incised lattice design on top of lamp compartment cover; tiny lions on domed feet  
Creation Place:   Europe, Germany, , , Frankfurt  
Accession #:   2008.2.1a,b  
Owner:   The Minneapolis Institute of Arts