Hanukkah lamp. The Netherlands, possibly Amsterdam, [19th or early 20th century].
Brass, cast and etched.
Hanukkah lamp of a type in use among the Dutch community of Jews of Portuguese extraction. The oldest known example of this type has been dated to 1629-1630. The central ornament of the back plate, bearing the servant light and central inscription, is flanked on either side by a pair of fleur-de-lis ornaments. The central inscription, appearing inside a rectangular frame, reads (Hebrew): “For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light” (Proverbs, 6:23). Etched onto the lower border of the back plate is the following inscription, in Latin letters: “Present van Emanuel v. Abr. Querido” [“Gift of Emanuel ben Abraham Querido”]. Apparently, the lamp was gifted by Emanuel Querido, possibly to a synagogue.
The surname Querido relates to a Sephardi Jewish family of Portuguese extraction. Several members of this family are known to have lived in Amsterdam and were active there; in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a number of people bearing either the name “Emanuel Querido” or “Emanuel Abraham Querido” lived in the city, but we were unable to identify the precise individual referred to in the above inscription.

Maximal height: 22.5 cm. Maximal width: 29 cm. Good condition.

PLEASE NOTE: Some lot descriptions were shortened in translation. For further information, please refer to the Hebrew text.