Derived from Latin ex voto suscepto “in pursuance of a vow,” an ex voto embodies the hopes, dreams, and anxieties of the person who deposits it. Almost anything, regardless of size, weight, form, or original function, can become a votive object. Ultimately, the category refers to a subset of the material world in which a thing is not necessarily made to be a votive, but instead becomes charged with votive meaning once dedicated to a deity or deities. This volume, one of the first collections devoted exclusively to the subject, builds on the assumption that a shared conceptual framework underpins votive objects, and that by merit of their consecration they have become a category representing a special stage in the life of a material.

The contributors to this comparative study examine ex votos across a range of locations and time periods, including the classical Mediterranean world, medieval Europe, the period of the Catholic Reform, and on to Mexico, Shinto and Buddhist Japan, and Muslim Iran. Voluminous and diverse, Ex Voto will appeal in a wide range of fields, including history, religion, and anthropology.


Table of Contents
Series Editor’s Preface

Acknowledgments

Fractured Narratives: Writing the Biography of a Votive Offering
Jessica Hughes

Between the Body and the Divine: Healing Votives from Classical and Hellenstic Greece
Alexia Petsalis-Diomidis

Italian Ex-Votos and “Pro-Anima” Images in the Late Middle Ages
Michelle Bacci

Renaissance Perspectives on Classical Antique Votive Practices
Megan Holmes

Humble Offerings: Votive Panel Paintings in Renaissance Italy
Fredrika Jacobs

Donated before the Gods: Popular Display of Edo-period Ema Tables
Hilary K. Snow

Presence and Narrative in the Ex-Votos of New Spain
Clara Bargellini

Vows on Water: Ship Ex-Votos as Things, Metaphors, and Mediators of Communality
Hannah Baader

Nazr Necessities: Votive Practice and Objects in Iranian Muharram Ceremonies
Christine Gruber

Procreative Giving: Votive Wombs and the Study of Ex-Voto
Ittai Weinryb

Contributors

Index