Luminous Art : Hanukkah Menorahs of the Jewish Museum

by Susan L. Braunstein

• ISBN13: 9780300103878
• ISBN10: 0300103875
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-10-11
• Publisher: Jewish Museum

Summary

The ceremonial kindling of lights each night during the eight-day holiday of Hanukkah commemorates an ancient victory for religious freedomthe liberation and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE. As their diversity and beauty attest, Hanukkah lamps are singularly important as a form of ceremonial art and are among Judaism's best-loved traditional objects. This superbly illustrated book showcases more than 100 Hanukkah lamps selected from the extensive collection of The Jewish Museum in New York. The featured lamps date from the Renaissance to our own time, and were created from a wide variety of materials in virtually every part of the world, including the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.Susan L. Braunstein provides an engaging overview of the Hanukkah lamp and discusses its origins in Jewish tradition, its many innovative forms, its enduring ritual uses, and its social context. She also includes a short informative essay about each of the wonderfully varied lamps pictured in the book.

Author Biography

Susan L. Braunstein is curator of archaeology and Judaica and head of the Judaica Department at The Jewish Museum in New York.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Eight lights, a thousand tales : Hanukkah lamps of The Jewish Museum	p. 6
Highlights of the collection	p. 41
The Netherlands	p. 43
Germany	p. 57
Austria	p. 91
Italy	p. 101
Eastern Europe	p. 117
Other European countries	p. 147
North Africa	p. 155
The Middle East and Asia	p. 167
The Americas	p. 185
Lamps made from other objects	p. 217
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