Ancient collector's Ex-Voto painting. Oil on panel (1927). Ancient votive panel. Bellandi Collection, Turin: These panels come from an important votive collection, they are very interesting from an expressive, historical and iconographic point of view: in this sense they are a unique and precious heritage. Preservative restoration - in good condition. The Latin phrase ex-voto means literally ‘from the vow made’. It designates an object given to a deity as a gift. The complete expression is ‘ex voto suscepto’, meaning ‘from the vow made’: this practice, shared in various forms by many religions, is a commitment between the believer and the deity. The ex-voto is given to the deity in fulfilment of a vow, in gratitude or devotion for a grace received. Literally, the translation of ‘ex-voto’ means ‘from the vow made’. It is a Latin expression consisting of the preposition ‘ex’ and the word ‘votum’, from the verb ‘vovere’, which means ‘to promise’, ‘to formulate’ a prayer to God. The other Latin expression ‘ex voto suscepto’ is translated as ‘from an expressed and fulfilled vow’. Other similar expressions, however, occur in classical Latin, even in the shortened form ‘votum’ (or vota), ‘solvere’, ‘dare’, ‘complere’. Ex-voto objects are still very common in churches, as offers to Our Lady, Saints or God. Important ex-voto collections, including numerous small paintings, remarkable proofs of religiousness and popular art, can be found in many sanctuaries dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Dimensions: 27/30. With certificate of lawful origin. Ex-votos are pictorial representations commissioned and then placed inside the churches which, like snapshots, portray the salient moments in which those who offer them found themselves in trouble or in life-threatening situations.