Devotional objects were used as expressions of piety at home, although they could also be utilized at churches and monasteries. They include devotional pictures, small altars, small religious sculptures, crucifixes, rosaries, and medallions. Devotional pictures originated from small prayer-pictures with holy scenes that have been kept in prayer-books since the 14th c. In time, these modest pictures evolved into central devotional pictures representing saints or religious motifs to which they have been dedicated. They may also contain saints' relics with inscriptions of their names. The central images were made by miniaturists, illuminators and copperplate engravers, while motifs were also frequently presented as wax reliefs. The surrounding decorations were mostly made in the nunneries of Cistercian and Ursuline order out of shiny, loud and colourful materials, which is why the overall impression was close to that of popular visual expression. The highest regard for devotional pictures was in the 17th, and particularly the 18th c., especially in Central European countries.