Jewish Museum Silver Plate Menorah Judith Holding Head of Holofernes Judaica

Description

Large, heavy, vintage, late 20th-century silver-plated menorah, produced by The Jewish Museum. Design features eight screw-in candle cups on a rectangular base with scalloped / foliate legs and edging, behind which is a backsplash depicting Jewish / Old Testament heroine Judith, carrying her sword and the head of Holofernes, while a heavenly hand anoints her with water from above. Judith is framed in more foliate swags with a crown at the top and an additional shamash candle cup on the right-hand side.

This menorah oil lamp tells the story of Judith's beheading of Holofernes, Nebuchadnezzar’s general, who was sent to suppress the Jewish people. The Jewish people, besieged by the enemy, are about to lose all hope and surrender. Judith, in a final attempt to increase morale and retrieve courage in the Jewish camp, decides to seduce Holofernes with her beauty, and finally, cuts his head off when he's drunk. She holds up Holofernes' severed head as a trophy and manages to regain the Jewish camp's courage to fight off the enemy.
This particular menorah is a replica of a Polish menorah from the 1700s. It is considered to be an incredibly rare collector's item and was made by The Jewish Museum, probably in the 1950s in NYC.

Condition

Good - Gentle wear/tarnish

Dimensions

10.5" x 3" x 10" (Width x Depth x Height)