Much of the external details of the story of the Dresden lamp can thus be fairly certainly pieced together from the entries in Cosima's diary and the surviving parts of Cosima's, Nietzsche's and Semper's correspondence. Cosima wanted a copy of the lamp; she asked Nietzsche to approach Semper on her behalf because of the demarche between Semper and Wagner. Semper provided a drawing and details of the original makers. Cosima asked Nietzsche to approach the makers; we may deduce that he declined, as Cosima sent her own choice of goldsmith to Semper to obtain some further details of the design. These were grudgingly supplied by Semper, but obviously some more information was needed, and Cosima wrote to Pusinelli in Dresden - we may guess, to ask him to take a look himself at the original and report back. The lamp was finally installed on the day of Siegfried's christening, September 4th 1870, about eight months after Nietzsche's original approach to Semper.

Of the subsequent history of the lamps I have (so far) discovered very little. If the Wagners' lamp accompanied them from Triebschen to Wahnfried, it is apparently no longer to be found there. Unfortunately there are no records of the Wahnfried interiors before 1939, and the house was bombed in 1945 and suffered looting from American troops after the war (note 1). The lamp may therefore have been damaged or destroyed as a consequence - or it may still be lurking somewhere in an American attic. The original synagogue lamp must have been destroyed either in 1938 or in subsequent bombing of Dresden. (A new Dresden synagogue , to a modern design, was inaugurated in November 2001).

The major question, on which we can only speculate, is why Cosima (who was quite as anti-Semitic as her husband, if not in fact more so) wanted this Jewish ritual object in their household. My suggestions are as follows:

of Cosima visiting Dresden, and if she had done so the synagogue would have been bottom on her list of places to visit. Wagner himself however would very likely have visited the synagogue designed by his friend during his Dresden years in the 1840s. There is no evidence that Wagner harboured any anti-Jewish feelings at this time, i.e. before his article 'Jewry in Music' of 1850. Moreover in that article we find evidence that he had at least once visited a synagogue, and indeed during a synagogue service: 'Who has not had occasion to convince himself of the travesty of a divine service of song, presented in a real Folk-synagogue?' (note 2). Semper's synagogue must be a prime candidate for this visit. It was on a central site in Dresden, not far from the Opera House, and indeed only a few paces away from the spot where, according to a modern plaque, the 1849 Uprising began. Wagner must therefore have been familiar with the building.

From Semper's drawings it is clear that the lamp was an attractive object and given its prominent siting in the synagogue it could very well have attracted Wagner's attention. Cosima and Wagner often mentioned or discussed Semper (on the evidence of Cosima's diaries - about 40 entries for Semper in the index) and they both had a high opinion of his abilities. He was Wagner's architect of choice for his abortive Munich theatre. An article of Semper's design would therefore be highly regarded by both husband and wife.

On 6th June 1869, Siegfried, Richard and Cosima's third child, was born. Shortly afterwards she wrote to Hans von Bulow, still her legal husband, asking for a resolution of their marital situation. Von Bulow agreed to initiate a divorce and this became effective in July 1870: Wagner and Cosima were married on 25th August. The way was therefore cleared for Siegfried's baptism. Cosima would thus have been aware, at the time when Nietzsche originally wrote to Semper, that her release and remarriage were in the offing. I conjecture that the lamp was conceived by her as a gift to Richard to celebrate these events. Nietzsche stayed with the Wagners over Christmas 1869, and Cosima perhaps briefed him at that time. Possibly the lamp was intended by Cosima as a gift for Richard at their wedding, but was not ready in time, so the christening of Siegfried presented an equally appropriate opportunity.

In either case, the significance of the lamp could therefore have been to point their union as a triumph over their adversaries, amongst whom both Richard and Cosima rated Jews as the front line. (Note that the second, expanded, version of 'Jewry in Music', was published under Wagner's own name - the first article had been under a pseudonym - in 1869). It is very tempting to think that Cosima might have been inspired by the famous panel on the Arch of Titus showing the Temple Menorah as a Roman trophy. As we know from 'The Ring', the Wagners were only too sensitive to symbols of power.

(PS: One further, ironic, connection between Wagner, synagogues and lamps may be mentioned. In 1872, when Wagner organised a performance in Bayreuth of Beethoven's 'Choral Symphony' to celebrate the laying of the foundation stone of his Festival Theatre, he needed additional lighting in the hall to enable the choir and orchestra to follow their scores. He asked to borrow the new gas-chandelier of the Bayreuth Synagogue, and the council of the Synagogue agreed to this - their letter of permission still exists).