Bidspirit auction | Ancient Bronze Hanukkah Menorah. Italy

Ancient Bronze Hanukkah Menorah. Italy the 17th-18th Century - Ancient Bronze Chanukkiya decorated with an altar with fire and lions. Hebrew inscription on the Chanukkiya: 'כי נר מצוה ותורה אור'.  This Chanukkiya is an old replica of an early Italian Hanukkah Menorah from the 16th century which appears in the catalog of the Stieglitz Family Collection: see - Stieglitz Collection: Masterpieces of Jewish Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 1987, Catalog 118. Bronze Menorahs of the 14th-17th centuries, Gothic and Renaissance style, from Northern Italy, France and Germany are extremely rare.  The casting technique, their quality, the intricacies of the designs, and the remnants of gilding suggest that they were created using early molds and served as sources for the reproduction of many other Menorahs. Some of the Renaissance-style Menorahs were designed in the workshops of northern Italian cities. Among the artists who created them were also Jews. It seems that the renowned bronze casters, the De Loius family from Verona in the 16th century, were among those who made models for many Menorahs.