ABSTRACT
This contribution applies New Materialism and Assemblage Theory approaches to go beyond the formal and representational qualities of Cypriot art to explore how these images functioned in religious settings. I concentrate on a particular type of art, votive figurines and statues, dedicated at the scientifically investigated rural sanctuary at Athienou-Malloura in the Malloura Valley during a critical period in Cypriot history. By examining sanctuaries as vibrant assemblages, we can understand them as charged spaces in a constant state of becoming as people, things, and landscapes co-created dynamic object worlds that were perpetually in flux. More than material components of ephemeral prayer, in these spaces votives were highly efficacious and functioned beyond their initial creation and donor's motives, their meanings continually re-interpreted. As part of these vibrant assemblages, votive art was not merely for display, but actively shaped the mental processes of worshipers and co-created dynamic sacred spaces. Through this lens Cypriot art, long derided as conservative and static, now emerges as vibrant and powerful.
