This case study combines the disciplines of art history, community history, and ethnographic fieldwork to identify a group of museum objects within their cultural context. It shows how ethnography can be used to supplement the tool box available to the art historian in a positive way. Thus, private collections are used to identify the group of Hanukkah lamps of sheet metal in museums. Images of the lamps in folk and fine art, and mention of them in newspaper advertisements and community satirical publications—all contemporary to the period of their use—were consulted. Over 80 interviewees from southern Germany, Alsace, and the Netherlands were interviewed; the majority former teachers from a Jewish school in Wurzburg, others residing in Jerusalem and on the Moshav Shavei Tzion. As a result, the Hanukkah lamps were identified by country, ethnic group, religious affiliation, and object name in the local idiom. Tracing the development and geographic spread of the form also enabled us to identify the same lamp used in different social contexts, among itinerate members of society and the bourgeoisie.

中文翻译：

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Chanukka-Eisen：来自德国农村的民族志、博物馆和“光明节铁灯”

本案例研究结合了艺术史、社区史和民族志实地考察等学科，以确定在其文化背景下的一组博物馆物品。它展示了如何使用民族志以积极的方式补充艺术史学家可用的工具箱。因此，私人收藏被用来识别博物馆中的金属板光明节灯组。参考了民间和美术中灯的图像，以及在报纸广告和社区讽刺出版物中提及它们的图像——所有这些都与它们使用的时期同时发生。来自德国南部、阿尔萨斯和荷兰的 80 多名受访者接受了采访；大多数前任教师来自维尔茨堡的一所犹太学校，其他人居住在耶路撒冷和 Moshav Shavei Tzion。结果，光明节灯被国家识别，民族、宗教信仰和地方习语中的对象名称。追踪这种形式的发展和地理传播也使我们能够在不同的社会背景下，在社会成员和资产阶级之间识别出相同的灯。