Berlin silver Menorah, circa 1800
Small silver back-plate menorah, cast, repoussé, and stamped with city hallmark and maker’s mark.
Description: The backplate of the menorah features a flower vase surrounded by rocaille, flowers and leaves. A rectangular container is screwed to the backplate, topped by a lid covering eight oil pans with half-tubes for the wicks, and cast leaves are soldered on both sides. Set on four legs. This menorah is classic for the location and era.
Condition: Good; shammash (servant light) is missing.
Size: Height: 13 cm. Width: 12.5 cm.
Provenance: Yechezkel Toporowitch Collection
A similar item can be viewed in the collection of Chanukah menorahs exhibited in the Jewish Museum in New York (p. 237, item #165) and in the Jewish Museum Book in Berlin (p. 285, item #190).
Frankfurt and Berlin Menorahs
German Jews traditionally prided themselves on using silver menorahs for Chanukah. This custom is likely rooted from Sefer “Yosef Ometz” (Book of Rituals and Customs, 1723) by the Frankfurt Kehillah which cites the sefer Seder Hayom regarding the custom of lighting candles in a silver menorah.
Demand for silver menorahs among all stratums of Jewish society began in Frankfurt, but spread swiftly to Berlin and other German Jewish communities. This established a need for smaller menorahs that would reduce the high costs and also facilitate use for travelers and wayfarers, but that would still be attractive enough to fulfill the dictum of “Zeh Keli V’anvehu” which entails beautifying every mitzvah to the best of one’s ability.
One of the most striking motifs of these menorahs are the bazichim, the cups earmarked for the oil, which are shaped as a small box with four legs from which eight half-branches or tubes emerge. These menorahs also feature a cover and an attractive backplate.
One of the artists most renowned for crafting this style of menorah was a Christian smith by the name of Rotger Herfurth whose earliest known pieces are dated as far back as 1748. Herfurth’s style was later replicated by many later artists. This type of menorah remained popular until the end of the 19th century. ……………………………………….. .
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