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Shabbat hanging lamp
Gregorius van der Toorn (Dutch, born in 1715)
Dutch (The Hague)
1768
Medium/Technique
Gilded silver
Dimensions
Height x diameter: 100 × 28.6 cm (39 3/8 × 11 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds donated by Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for Netherlandish Art
Accession Number2021.332a-d
ClassificationsRitual objects
Before the advent of candlesticks, Sabbath hanging oil lamps had been used in Jewish homes for centuries. They would be lit with a blessing every Friday evening, as an enhancement of the biblical commandment to kindle the Sabbath light: ‘Honour the Sabbath day and keep it holy’ (Exodus 20: 8-12).
In the Netherlands, these hanging lamps would be typically made of five distinct parts, held by a hook and joined by chains. The main bowl would be filled with olive oil, with floating pits lit around the edge, and a drip pan below to collect the spilling oil.
In line with this model, the lamp from The Hague consists of the following parts:
-An S-shaped, plain silver upper hook with cast baluster shape intermediate link.
-An open-work crown, fully marked underneath with maker’s mark G.T, the town mark for Hague, the Province of Holland standard mark (crowned lion rampant), the date letter W for 1768, and a tax release mark N (in script) of 1795 from Haarlem.
-The baluster vase shaped reflector .
-The star shaped, lobed and baluster seven light oil-container, fully marked underneath with the same five silver marks as above.
-The circular baluster-shaped drip pan (marked with maker’s mark G.T, and tax release mark N (in script) of 1795 for Haarlem.
In the Netherlands, these hanging lamps would be typically made of five distinct parts, held by a hook and joined by chains. The main bowl would be filled with olive oil, with floating pits lit around the edge, and a drip pan below to collect the spilling oil.
In line with this model, the lamp from The Hague consists of the following parts:
-An S-shaped, plain silver upper hook with cast baluster shape intermediate link.
-An open-work crown, fully marked underneath with maker’s mark G.T, the town mark for Hague, the Province of Holland standard mark (crowned lion rampant), the date letter W for 1768, and a tax release mark N (in script) of 1795 from Haarlem.
-The baluster vase shaped reflector .
-The star shaped, lobed and baluster seven light oil-container, fully marked underneath with the same five silver marks as above.
-The circular baluster-shaped drip pan (marked with maker’s mark G.T, and tax release mark N (in script) of 1795 for Haarlem.
Marks
Fully marked on crown and drip pan
ProvenanceLate 18th or early 19th century, probably taken to Antwerp for Sephardic Dutch-Portuguese use. 20th century, kept by the Beth Moshe Synagogue, Antwerp [see note]; 1965, sold by the Beth Moshe Synagogue to Bernard Finkelstein, Antwerp; by descent to his son, Gideon Finkelstein, Antwerp and Raanana, Israel; 2021, sold by Gideon Finkelstein, through Kedem Auction House, Jerusalem, to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 16, 2021)
NOTE: The Beth Moshe synagogue was built in Antwerp between 1910 and 1913. Because a 1981 terrorist attack on the building destroyed its historical records, it is unknown precisely when and how the synagogue came into possession of the hanging lamp. In 1965, the synagogue sold certain items, including this lamp, to raise funds.
NOTE: The Beth Moshe synagogue was built in Antwerp between 1910 and 1913. Because a 1981 terrorist attack on the building destroyed its historical records, it is unknown precisely when and how the synagogue came into possession of the hanging lamp. In 1965, the synagogue sold certain items, including this lamp, to raise funds.