'Stachelkugel' Womb Votive

Wooden sphere with steel spikes attached, symbolic for the uterus. 
This votive was offered to Mary against unexplained abdominal pain or an unfulfilled desire to have children and hung in churches or chapels. 
In Tyrol, it also bore the name "mother's ball" ("Mutterkugel") or "womb" ("Bärmutter"). For centuries the male-oriented science of medicine saw the uterus, in Greek "hystéra", as a problematic organ attributed with evil and diabolical properties.
This form is specific to Tyrol and now rare to find. 
19th century. 
21 x. 20 x 20 cm