Lindo lamp facts for kids
The Lindo lamp is a special silver Chanukah menorah. A menorah is a candle holder used during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. This lamp is the oldest Chanukah menorah known to have been made in Britain.
History of the Lindo Lamp
The Lindo lamp was made in London in 1709. A silversmith named John Ruslen created it. It was made to celebrate the wedding of Elias Lindo and Rachel Lopes Ferreira. They got married at London's Bevis Marks Synagogue on February 2, 1709.
For 77 years, the lamp has been on display at the London Jewish Museum. It has been there since the museum first opened in 1932. Many people think the Lindo lamp is one of the most important items in the museum's collection.
In 2009, the family who owned the lamp decided they wanted to sell it. They had loaned it to the museum for a very long time. The price for the lamp was set at £300,000. People worried that if the museum could not buy it, a private collector might, and then the public would not be able to see it anymore.
Many groups helped the museum try to buy the lamp. The National Heritage Memorial Fund offered £145,000. The Art Fund offered £75,000, and the MLA /V&A Purchase Fund offered £30,000. The museum still needed to raise £50,000 from other people. If they could raise enough money, the lamp would be shown in a new part of the museum called "Judaism: A Living Faith." This new area is designed to show off the museum's amazing collection of Jewish art.
Art and Design
The Lindo lamp is made from sterling silver. It has a special design carved into it called a relief. This design shows the Prophet Elijah being fed by ravens. This scene comes from the Book of Kings in the Bible (I Kings 17:6).
It was common for Jewish art to show a Bible character who had the same name as the person who ordered the artwork. In this case, Elias Lindo ordered the lamp, and his name is similar to Elijah. The story of Elijah being fed by ravens was also a popular subject in art during the Baroque period. This was a time when art was very grand and dramatic.
