Christ the Good Shepherd 17th-18th century

sculpture, ivory

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stone

sculpture

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dark web

sculpting

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sculpture

ivory

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gothic

This small, 17th-18th century ivory sculpture of “Christ the Good Shepherd” depicts Jesus as a young shepherd holding a lamb. The sculpture was likely made in the Netherlands or Germany, where devotional imagery, particularly of Christ, was very popular in the late medieval and early modern periods. The figure’s detailed clothing and natural pose contribute to the piece’s powerful symbolism of Christ’s role as the shepherd of humanity. The small size of the sculpture suggests that it was intended for personal devotion.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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The province of Goa in western India was under Portuguese control from 1512–1961, forming a nexus in trading routes that circumnavigated the earth. Goan craftsman were renowned for their supple modeling of ivory (likely exported from Mozambique) into Christian icons, which feed the appetite for luxury products in Europe, as well as furthered evangelical missions throughout Asia and the Americas. Within the genre of Indo-Portuguese ivories, popular subjects include ‘Christ as the Good Shepard’ (the image of Christ as child would have related to similar bronze statuettes of the God Krishna) and the ‘Virgin of the Immaculate Conception,’ which shows Mary atop a crescent moon, both of which remain ever-present icons in South Asia’s diverse religious landscape.