Triangular, openwork backplate with arched ribs, framed by stylized acanthus leaves and depicting the Greek mythology of the Judgment of Paris. Fronted by row of oil fonts and surmounted by suspension ring. 8.25 x 7.75 inches.

BRONZE CHANUKAH LAMP.

The mythological legend of the Judgment of Paris is commonly illustrated in Classical paintings and decorative arts. Paris, also known as Alexander, was the son of the king and queen of Troy and is depicted here tending his father’s sheep and giving an orange (or “golden apple”) to a nude Aphrodite, whom he choses from among three goddesses, with Hermes and Cupid aiming his arrow in the background. For another example of the use of the Judgment of Paris in a Chanukah lamp, see Israel Museum Catalogue, The Stieglitz Collection, (1987) no. 133.