24 Hanukkah menorah

Pressburg (Pozsony; today Bratislava, Slovakia), 19^th century

brass

acquisition, 1911

This cheaper, and more widespread version of the traditional menorah designed for the holiday of Hanukah 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.