Statue of Liberty Lamp

Manfred Anson (Germany 1922–2012 New Jersey)
Brass; cast, engraved, h. 23 x w. 16 ½ x 7 in.
Cincinnati Skirball Museum, gift of Jerome S. and Suzanne Teller, 2017.1

Manfred Anson escaped Nazi Germany, found safe refuge in Australia, and eventually immigrated to America. This Hanukkah lamp’s individual statuettes were cast from the original 19th-century souvenir used to raise funds for a base for the Statue of Liberty. Inscriptions under each of the statuettes allude to the many moments in Jewish history, from the Exodus from Egypt to the founding of Israel in 1948, when freedom triumphed over adversity. The shamash, or service light, bears the dates 1886-1896, commemorating the statue’s centennial. The back of the shamash bears the artist’s name and the number 49, indicating that it is the 49th of a limited edition of 60. This lamp expresses gratitude for a safe haven and represents the artist’s passionate interpretation of the meaning of Hanukkah—equating the ancient victory of the Maccabees over their oppressors with the modern democratic ideals of America, which promises religious freedom for all its citizens.