Votive plaque

A rectangular plaque pendant; along the top edge is a rectangular slotted opening for hanging, into which a bent metal loop is inserted. The surface is decorated with a wavy relief; the field bears a head-and-shoulders image of a woman in a headscarf. To the left and right of her head is the Church Slavonic inscription: "For the health of Maria."

The plaque belonged to the collection of the Sloboda Ukraine Museum named after H. S. Skovoroda. During the Second World War it was evacuated and returned to Kharkiv in November 1944.

Votive plaques are small metal plates shaped like, or bearing an image of, various parts of the human body or organs. They were hung on the most miracle-working and venerated icons as a petition for healing or in thanks for healing received. This tradition was widespread in Ukraine in the 17th–19th centuries.