ir-hakodesh:Hanukah lamp adorned with Temple MenorahTétouan, Morocco, late 19th or early 20th

ir-hakodesh:

Hanukah lamp adorned with Temple Menorah

Tétouan, Morocco, late 19th or early 20th century, brass, cast; brass sheet, pierced and engraved

Inscribed in Hebrew: “Let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand” [Num 8:2]; “Blessed shall you be in your comings and blessed shall you be in your goings” [Deut 28:6]

This Hanukah lamp from Tetuán in northern Morocco bears a depiction of the menorah on the centre of the back plate, between two twisted columns, each surmounted by a decorative bird. The biblical inscriptions were believed to endow the lamp with the power to protect the home. But along with the decorative elements, they reveal a connection between the craftsmen and the Jewish professional scribes who illustrated marriage contracts (ketubot) and various types of plaques for the home or synagogue, using similar patterns. Tetuán was a thriving centre of Torah study and Jewish learning for centuries. Its Jewish population consisted of descendants of Jews expelled from Spain, as well as Jews from other Moroccan cities and from Livorno in Italy.