Bronze

Ex-voto

Montegrotto, Padua, Italy

Pre-roman

8th century to the 3rd century B.C.

This bronze element belongs to the category of ex voto - statuettes donated to the divinity to ask for protection - was found in San Pietro Montagnon (today Montegrotto) in the late 19th and early 20th century. The area, already known in antiquity for the beneficial properties of its thermal springs, was a very important place of worship since the 8th century B.C. and a religious reference for the entire venetic world for a long period: the objects donated by the faithful can be dated between the second half of the 8th century to the 3rd century B.C., when the sanctuary was merged with the cult of the Roman god Aponus. The ex voto exposed in the Museum are bronze copies of anatomical elements - an arm and a leg - but they do not represent an exception in the panorama of votive statuettes. The use of making objects that refer to a part of the body is much more ancient and widespread throughout the Mediterranean world and it is functional to a specific request to be made to the deity or as thanks for help received; in both cases it concerns to a cult certainly linked to the sphere of health and healing.