About his work, Aijazuddin said: 'My work uses the vocabulary of traditional religious art such as gold leaf, illuminations, altar pieces, paintings, scrolls and
votive objects to investigate contemporary ideas of divinity, belief, religion, identity, statehood, belonging, and the question of what constitutes personal faith.'
Hawass, who was the former head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, stated they had found four foundation deposits which meant "caches or holes in the ground that were filled with
votive objects such as pottery vessels, food remains and other tools as a sign that a tomb construction is being initiated."
Alabaster factfile ENGLISH alabaster was mined from Roman times and carved into statues, tombs and
votive objects.
Ilan Peled of The Hebrew University said there's a scholarly debate over what purpose the erotic art served, with some contending they were
votive objects for the veneration of Ishtar, the love goddess.
Like Gimblett's quatrefoils with their exhilarating colors, these seemingly reductive black-and-white works are also
votive objects through which one can access transcendence.
In this respect it was a perfect material for the production of
votive objects meant for wide distribution and this exhibition included a few examples of a common type: the half-length Virgin and Child.
These
votive objects were made in series and often went through many generations and sometimes travelled from one Etruscan centre to another through trade.
Could it be interpreted as evidence of a movement towards a kind of secular devotional sentiment with the gallery as sacred space filled with
votive objects? Or as a continuing quest, in an increasingly fractured post-modern world, for spiritual values and meanings perceived as residing in, and even emanating from, the exhibited art objects?
It includes objects in a variety of media--stone, terracotta, stucco, and metal--as well as of forms--narrative reliefs, cult images,
votive objects and reliquaries, gold and silver ornaments and coins, ivory and bone pieces--that make this an exciting assemblage to suit all tastes.
One may say that these
votive objects, in a special way, epitomized the relationship Nadelman maintained with the material world throughout his career.
Even more significantly, she draws from these
votive objects fascinating conclusions about the relationship between state and popular cults.
I am tempted, then, to regard it almost as a sacred vessel, an icon, like the statues, vases, and jewels the ancients offered to the gods,
votive objects that became holy in themselves.
