Child Jesus as Good Shepherd
Description
Jesus is shown here as a child seated in meditation, dressed in thick coat with curly hair. The lamb on his
shoulder identifies him as the Good Shepherd.
Interestingly, CSMVS has an incomplete image. As the adjoining picture shows typically Child Jesus would be sitting atop tiered landscape with sheep flocking to drink around a fountain and Mary Magdalene shown as meditating the scriptures inside a cave in the bottom.
While the fountain symbolises the biblical message of life giving water i.e. Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene is used to illuminate the role of a believer practising devotion and repentance. Jesus’ eyes are closed in
meditation suggesting he is thinking of his death. His pose is derived from the meditative pose of Buddha.
The Good Shepherd Rockery is an original iconography developed in Portuguese India. Developed into an elaborate and complex iconographic form, this image probably to illuminate the biblical concept of the Good Shepherd for the newly converts by the missionaries.
Collection
Indian Decorative Art
Object Type
Figurine
Material
Ivory
Schools/Culture/Period
--
Technique
--
Date
18th century CE
Location
Goa