Milagros: Votive Offerings from the Americas

Description:

Milagros are small objects offered to saints or popular images of deities in return for favors granted or prayers answered. They are found throughout Latin America, offered by the hundreds of thousands of devoted petitioners whose purchase or fabrication of these votive offerings continues an ancient folk practice.

This is the definitive book on Milagros, richly illustrated with photographs of milagros in public and private collections in the US and Latin America. Detailed drawings of ancient and contemporary ex-votos and milagros by artist Kathy Chilton enliven the text. This is a bilingual presentation of milagros from around the world in a beautifully designed book that has been in print for over 30 years and has sold over 10,000 copies.

Reviews:

This exquisite little book offers a brief history of milagros, Latin American religious offerings cum folk art. Establishing their connection to votive objects worldwide in pre-Christian times, then tracing their association with Catholic saints, Egan laments both the scant documentation of their earlier use and their recent decline as religious objects. The complete text is given in both English and Spanish, and printed on heavy colored stock. Most pleasing are the color and black-and- white photos, presenting not only the diversity of Latin American milagros but also their precursors and corollaries from around the world. Considering the growing availability of milagros in the United States, this book is recommended wherever there is patron interest in Southwestern/Latin American folk art.
—Eric Bryant, Library Journal, 1991.

Although Latin American folk art has received considerable attention in recent years, this is the first book on the popular collectible milagros, and it is a welcomed delight. . . With sixteen color, fifty black and white photographs and numerous line illustrations, both common and rare or unusual milagros are beautifully presented in historical and contemporary forms. . . This bilingual trade edition fills a gap in our understanding of these popular devotional items.
—Anne L. Ross, Ornament, February, 1991.