Faith and Transformation: Votive Offerings and Amulets from the Alexander Girard Collection

Amulets are objects of supranormal potency that safeguard the wearer during critical periods of life passage and transformation. Ex-votos, small metal objects often in the shapes of human figures or specific parts of the body, are presented as gifts to supernatural beings in thankful reciprocation for favors received. Drawing on examples from the Alexander Girard Collection at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this book describes the actual uses and ritual of the objects by people around the world who embrace different systems of faith and follow distinct cultural and ritual practices. The contributors, comprising an international group of historians, curators, folklorists, and anthropologists, focus on select pieces collected from Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Spain, Italy, Byzantium, Greece, Poland, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Japan.