Late 18th Century Earthenware Hanukkah Lamp, Djerba, Tunisia

A rare, late 18th century earthenware Hanukkah lamp from Djerba, Tunisia. Rectangular in shape, the Hanukkah lamp is supported by two legs. The oil fonts take the form of eight small recesses, with pinched edges on one side for wicks. Apparently, a servant light (now missing) was placed in the upper part of the lamp. This is a particularly rare and early specimen. In all likelihood, this model – undocumented in the literature – represents a missing link between the stone lamps used in North Africa and the more familiar earthenware lamps of Tunisia, which are generally glazed in a greenish hue (in similar fashion to the present lamp). But in the latter group, the oil fonts are elevated, that is, supported on top of small columns, and are similar in design to ancient earthenware oil lamps.

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