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Votive Offering

1865-1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Ex votos, from the Latin word for a vow, are offerings made by the pious in thanks for the fulfilment of a prayer. They come in many forms. Thin stamped silver representations of body parts, like this face, usually acknowledge recovery from an accident or disease, and were often deposited at the shrine or altar of the saint whose help had been invoked.

Juan Facundo Riaño, the Museum's 'correspondent for art objects in Madrid', bought this object for the Museum for three shillings and nine pence in Barcelona in 1871.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Stamped silver
Brief description
Stamped silver ex voto in the shape of a human face, Barcelona (Spain), 1865-1870.
Physical description
Votive offering made from sheet silver stamped in the shape of a face, facing the viewer, with short bobbed hair and fringe. The edge is cut in triangular points.
Dimensions
  • Length: 6.5cm
  • Width: 5.5cm
  • Depth: 1.1cm
Subject depicted
Summary
Ex votos, from the Latin word for a vow, are offerings made by the pious in thanks for the fulfilment of a prayer. They come in many forms. Thin stamped silver representations of body parts, like this face, usually acknowledge recovery from an accident or disease, and were often deposited at the shrine or altar of the saint whose help had been invoked.

Juan Facundo Riaño, the Museum's 'correspondent for art objects in Madrid', bought this object for the Museum for three shillings and nine pence in Barcelona in 1871.
Collection
Accession number
1244-1871

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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