18th Century Galician Brass Hanukkah Lamp Menorah

The backplate is cast with two rampant Lions of Judah flanking a topped crown cartouche with the Temple Menorah inside, the side panels fitted with two servant lights, fronted by a row of eight oil fonts with the boxed drip pan. Scholars theorize that these Polish Chanukah lamps that bear two servant lights (as opposed to the singular servant light normally found on a Chanukah lamp), served a purpose, having been used on one of the days that Chanukah fell on the Sabbath, as Sabbath candlesticks. This lamp was made by the technique known as "sand casting". This process begins with a wooden mold that was carved out to create negative space, which in turn is used to make the inverse form or shape to be used for the casting of metal. The mold is pressed into fine sand mixed with clay, then removed, and molten brass poured into the impression. When a mold wears out, a casting from that mold is often used as the mold for the next generation. Those later lamps will have less detail than their