Antique Portuguese Ex Voto Painting 1893 Folk Art Retablo on Wood Religious Miracle Healing Devotional Santos Colonial Portuguese

A deeply moving and wonderfully naïve Portuguese colonial ex voto painting dated 1893, hand-painted on wood and rich in spiritual symbolism.

This touching devotional piece depicts a figure lying in bed beneath a green blanket, with a solitary black cross standing nearby, a powerful visual shorthand for illness, suffering, faith and divine intervention. Along the lower edge, the handwritten Portuguese inscription records that a miracle was granted through Bom Jesus de Matosinhos, a revered devotional figure associated with healing and answered prayers.

Ex votos were traditionally commissioned as heartfelt offerings of gratitude after surviving illness, accidents or moments of despair. Each one tells an intimate human story, a plea answered, a life spared, a prayer heard. Pieces like this were never made as decorative art, which makes their raw honesty and emotional power especially compelling today.

The rustic execution, weathered wood, faded pigments and age-softened surface give this piece extraordinary timeless atributes. The visible wear, losses to the paint, old surface marks and imperfections only deepen its haunting charm and testify to a life genuinely lived.

A rare and soulful object for collectors of religious folk art, milagros, retablos, colonial artefacts, sacred interiors or curious wunderkammer pieces.

Details:
• Dated: 1893
• Origin: Portuguese colonial; acquired in Europe from a dealer whose previous owner purchased it in Brazil in the 1970s
• Medium: Paint on wood panel
• Approx. dimensions: 26.5 cm x 13.7 cm x 1.9 cm
• Condition: Antique condition with visible wear, surface losses, scratches, ageing to the wood and paint, please study photographs carefully.

This piece was acquired from an antique dealer, whose previous owner reportedly purchased it at the Feira de Antiguidades do MASP in São Paulo during the 1970s, alongside another very similar ex voto.

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1607A