Milagros & ex-votos
Meaning
A milagro ('miracle') is a small image of a body part, an animal, a house or a kneeling person, stamped in tin, silver or gold. It represents what needs, or received, divine help.
Intent
It is pinned to a saint's statue, image or altar cloth to ask for healing or a favour, or to give thanks for one received. Leg for a bad leg, heart for love or heart trouble, eyes for sight, animals for livestock.
Significance
Milagros are a living continuation of the ancient anatomical votive, via Iberian Catholicism, and are central to popular faith in Mexico, Peru and the American Southwest. They are also collected as folk art.
History
They came with Spanish and Portuguese Catholicism in the 16th century and remain widely used. Churches such as Chimayó (New Mexico) and many Mexican shrines are covered with them.
Making yours
2–8 cm stamped or cut sheet tin or silver, with embossed details and a hole or pin for attachment.The Americas: the tradition
In the Americas, protective and power objects belonged to the relationship between people, ancestors, animals and the land. Andean herders kept stone illas for the fertility of their flocks, Mesoamerican rulers wore green jade as breath and maize, Isthmian goldsmiths cast animal spirit-helpers, and Arctic and Northwest Coast shamans carried carved spirit charms. Catholicism, arriving from 1492, brought saints, milagros and the Iberian evil-eye tradition, which fused with Indigenous and African belief into new forms such as Ekeko, the Afro-Brazilian balangandã and Santería. Many Indigenous objects are sacred and some communities ask that they not be displayed or copied; the Zuni, for example, distinguish sacred fetishes from carvings made for sale.
Kiesgrube von MilagroLeipzig · 1877
O Cebreiro, igrexa parroquial Capela do Santo MilagroEspaña - Galicia - A Coruña - Santiago
Exvoto de San Sebastián, Ángel Zárraga (detalle 1)
Rio del MilagroLeipzig · 1877
Ampollas del Santo MilagroEspaña - Galicia - A Coruña - Santiago
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 002 Sotobañado y Priorato
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 006 Sotobañado y Priorato
Huesca - Catedral, Capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros 4
Escudo del obispo Juan Moriz de Salazar sobre la capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 004 Sotobañado y Priorato
Huesca - Catedral, Capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros 2
Amulets Charms Milagros
Escudo del obispo Moriz de Salazar en el retablo de la capilla del Cristo de los Milagros
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 001 Sotobañado y Priorato
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 005 Sotobañado y Priorato
Huesca - Catedral, Capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros 3
Retablo de la Capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros
Spanish: Ex voto (San Sebastián) Votive Offering (Saint Sebastian) title QS:P1476,es:"Ex voto (San Sebastián)" label QS:Les,"Ex voto (San Sebastián)" label QS:Len,"Votive Offering (Saint Sebastian)"
Claine amulette milagro costa rica
Cúpula de la capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros
Exvoto de San Sebastián, Ángel Zárraga (detalle 2)
Hermitage of La Vírgen de los Milagros 003 Sotobañado y Priorato
Huesca - Catedral, Capilla del Santo Cristo de los Milagros 1
Verja de la capilla del Santo Cristo de los MilagrosMore from The Americas: Andean illas & conopas · Isthmian & Colombian gold pendants · Mesoamerican jade & stone pendants · Taíno zemís & Caribbean amulets · Zuni & Pueblo fetishes · Umbilical amulets & medicine bundles · Northwest Coast & Arctic shaman charms · Balangandãs, figas & Afro-Atlantic charms · Dreamcatchers · Other & unsorted The Americas
Every type in the gallery
Anything in the gallery can be made: any piece, any tradition, in its own material or yours, by hand from the documented original. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted before anything is made. I reply within one business day.