Votive earthenware plaque
- Made:
- 1650-1750
Votive plaque, earthenware, tin glazed, from Deruta, Italian, 1650-1750
These painted plaques 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 Italy, a town renowned for its
ceramics since the 1400s. It depicts a group praying for demons to be expelled from a woman. Demonic possession was commonly attributed to mental illness. The letters P.G.R. stand for Per Grazia Ricevuta (By Grace Received).
Details
- Category:
- Medical Ceramic-ware
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A85190
- Materials:
- earthenware (tin glazed)
- Measurements:
-
overall: 392 mm x 524 mm x 33 mm, 6.04 kg
- type:
- votive offerings
- credit:
- Loan, Wellcome Trust
