Rectangular pottery plaque

Rectangular pottery plaque, one of a series depicting miraculous appearances of the Virgin Mary, majolica, made at Deruta, Umbria, Italy, dated 1666

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 depicts a sick child in bed, attended by a man and woman. The letters P.G.R. stand for Per Grazia Ricevuta (By Grace Recieved).