Judeo-Persian bronze Shabbat lamp

This suspended oil lamp serves for the ritual lighting of Shabbat: it is lit before the entry of the holy day, then hoisted to the ceiling by means of a suspension stem. The Judeo-Persian type is characterized by a reservoir in the shape of a multi-branched star, each branch bearing a spout and a wick, topped by a stem and a suspension device sometimes with a counterweight. Cast or hammered in bronze or brass, these lamps continue a tradition of suspended lighting peculiar to Jewish households in Iran. Their radiating form echoes that of other Shabbat lamps, such as the star lamp of the Ashkenazi world.