Votive plaque, earthenware, tin glazed, from Church of St. Maria de Bagni, Italian, 1899
Painted plaques like this are known as ‘ex votos’, meaning ‘from a vow’ in Latin. Left in a church in gratitude for answered prayers, each one tells a story of a cure or delivery from disaster through the intervention of the Virgin Mary or another Christian saint.
Ex votos can take various forms. This colourful glazed pottery example, known as majolica, is from Deruta in the province of Umbria, Italy, a town renowned for its ceramics since the 1400s. It was deposited in the Church of Saint Maria di Bagni and depicts a child falling from a building. The letters P.G.R. stand for Per Grazia Ricevuta (By Grace Recieved).
Details
- Category:
- Medical Ceramic-ware
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A85167
- Materials:
- earthenware (tin glazed)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 204 mm x 272 mm x 33 mm, 1.72 kg
- type:
- votive offerings
- credit:
- Loan, Wellcome Trust
