Votive offering donated by Anichino Corsi, in coral and partly-gilded silver, made by Florentine craftsmen in the mid-15th century. In the Christian tradition a votive offering, or ex voto, is an object offered to God, Our Lady or a saint for favors received. The expression “ex voto” derives from the Latin ex voto suscepto, meaning: "according to the promise made". According to the inscription on its stem, Anichino Corsi donated this branch of coral, part of the spoils from a campaign against the Moors, to Saint John the Baptist. A branch of coral is both rare and precious, an unusual find in the seas. It was mounted on a silver stand commissioned by the Cloth Merchants’ Guild and was put on display on the Silver Altar in the Baptistery on the feast of Saint John on June 24.