Agents of Faith: Votive Objects in Time and Place

Bard Graduate Center, New York

NOW CLOSED

Ex-voto of Josefa Peres Maldonado (detail; 1777), probably Aguascalientes, Mexico. Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley

This exhibition provides a broad historical look at the practice and history of votive giving, with around 250 objects that have been offered as acts of faith, dating from 1500 BC to the present day. The exhibition ranges from a Minoan double axe-head, thought to have been deposited at a devotional cave on Crete linked to the birth of Zeus, to a custom-built Harley-Davidson motorbike left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in 1995 on behalf of the people of Wisconsin. Find out more about ‘Agents of Faith’ from the Bard Graduate Center’s website.

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Male nkisi figure (19th century), Kongo

Male nkisi figure (19th century), Kongo Brooklyn Museum

Customized 1994 Harley‐Davidson Police Special motorcycle, deposited at Vietnam Veterans Memorial on 29 May 1995.

Customised 1994 Harley‐Davidson Police Special motorcycle, deposited at Vietnam Veterans Memorial on 29 May 1995. Photo: Bruce White

Enthroned Virgin and Child (mid 14th century), Italy.

Enthroned Virgin and Child (mid 14th century), Italy. Photo: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Votive heart offered to Saint Francis in the sanctuary of Sao Francisco do Caninde, Ceara, Brazil (1995).

Votive heart offered to Saint Francis in the sanctuary of Sao Francisco do Caninde (1995), Ceara, Brazil. Photo: Bruce White

Ex-voto of Josefa Peres Maldonado (1777), probably Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Ex-voto of Josefa Peres Maldonado (1777), probably Aguascalientes, Mexico. Davis Museum at Wellesley College, Wellesley