Description

Antique domestic ex-voto of Sant'Agata di Catania - Sicily - Early 19th century - Sacred Art

Found in a flea market in Noto, one of Sicily's famous Baroque towns, but as the ex-voto depicts Sant'Agata, it comes from Catania, of which she is the patron saint.

Date: Late 18th century - First half of the 19th century

An ex-voto (from the Latin ex voto suscepto, ‘according to the vow made’) is an object offered to a deity or saint in gratitude for a favour received or in request of protection. In Sicily, as in the rest of southern Italy, domestic ex-votos were extremely common from the 18th to the 19th century. They were hung in homes or placed in shrines.

Unlike reliquaries, which contain an authentic relic (bone, fragment of clothing), domestic ex-votos usually contain an image, a relief statuette as seen here, or a painted representation of the saint.

The object depicts Saint Agatha of Catania (martyred in 251), a virgin and martyr, one of the most venerated saints in Sicily. According to tradition, she was tortured and had her breasts cut off for refusing the advances of Prefect Quinctianus.

She is usually depicted wearing a crown, as the protector of Catania, holding a tray with her breasts, or, as here, surrounded by flames, a reminder of her torment.

She is associated with protection against fires and eruptions of Mount Etna, the volcano towering above Catania.

The ex-voto is carved and gilded wood, the background behind the statuette is decorative blue glass, and the saint is gilded metal in relief under glass.

The blue-coloured glass, decorated with clover motifs, evokes the sacred world of stained glass windows and accentuates the effect of light around the gilded effigy.

The gilding is heavily worn, revealing the white undercoat, the structure is fragile (the wood is detached on one side), and the central circle is roughly cut: see photos.

This ex-voto had a domestic function: it served as a permanent reminder of the patron saint, who was especially invoked against natural disasters and for healing.

It is part of the tradition of Sicilian popular piety, marked by devotional objects accessible to all, mass-produced by local artisans.