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The Child Jesus as The Good Shepherd
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The Child Jesus as The Good Shepherd

São Roque

Date 17th century

Origine India, Goa

Medium Ivory

Dimension cm (20 inches)

Date: 17th century

Origine: India, Goa

Medium: Ivory

Dimension: cm (20 inches)

Provenance: Provenance: J. C. collection, Oporto.

Literature:

Goan ivory carving depicting the Child Jesus as The Good Shepherd, remarkable for its finely detailed sculptural quality, that reveals the hand of a versed ivory artisan of evident aesthetic talent. The scene featured in this elaborate 17th century composition illustrates the Evangelical episode of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21), or the Parable of the Lost Sheep, in which Christ looks after and protects his flock - the believers - and brings the lost sheep - the sinner - into the pen.

From a meticulously carved terraced hill of floral and zoomorphic decorative elements, emerge elegant palm branches, fitted into orifices to the rear of the sculpture, representing the Tree of Life[1]. On the mountain summit, the well-proportioned Good Shepherd, defined by strands of short curly hair, round face, hooked nose and fine lips, a set of distinctive traits present in 17th century Indo-Portuguese art. As customary to all Indian depictions of this iconography, the Child is dormant.

In a clear and unequivocal example of cultural symbioses, the Child Christ features some of Buddha’s defining characteristics, such as the attitude of ecstasy[2], typified by His absent expression of expectant concentration, the closed eyes and hermetic smile, the fingers touching the temples and the right-hand resting face. He is attired in the traditional half-sleeved, knee-length tunic, carved in a faceted diamond tip pattern simulating sheepskin, with plain edges and tied by a cord at the waist. The feet, of finely carved sandals, are crossed. The Good Shepherd carries His traditional attributes; the staff, the waist hanging gourd, and the two sheep, one resting on the left shoulder and the other on His lap, both of diamond tip carved pelts. Beneath the main figure the flock spreads out down the hill, joined by Birds of paradise, symbols of the Souls of the World.

Above the Child Christ, the effigy of God Father in ‘pontifical majesty’, blessing with the right hand and holding the orb with the left, and crowned with the traditional 17th century papal tiara.

The canonical hill-shaped and terraced stand features four superimposed scenes[3]. On the first level the Fountain of Life – Fons Vitae – bursting from a cup surmounted by two small overlapping fonts supported by a column. The spring symbolizes the “Living Water Fountain” (John 4:10), later the “Fountain of Life” of Biblical tradition, alluding to Christ as the Fountain of Life for the souls, the sheep.[4] Allegories to the Divine Word are the two Birds of Paradise, on the second terrace, drinking from the water that gushes from the springs above[5].

The third level reveals a rocky cave, in which reclines Mary Magdalene dressed in a long cloak, with loose, long straight hair and flanked by two lions. In parallel to the Good Shepherd, her face rests on her right hand, while her left-hand points to an open book on the ground, an allusion to contemplative life and missionary activity. To Her right the crucifix, one of Mary Magdalene’s attributes and symbol of her love for Christ and of her reverence for the Passion of the Lord[6]. An unassuming beaded frieze frames the stand’s lower edge.

The sculpture’s iconographical diversity and complexity, suggests that its most likely sources of inspiration were European prototypes, widely circulated through prints and engravings, that were assimilated and interpreted by local Indian artisans working from Goa.[7]

For its evident syncretism, the Good Shepherd is considered the most iconic and original Christian representation, combining Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, that emerged from the Portuguese overseas expansion[8]. The artistic and iconographic symbioses of these sculptural compositions constitute a major material testimony to the religious context that produced them, which linked the Church’s concerns regarding the assimilation of the local populations for an easier conversion, to a clear distancing from European prototypes, therefore contributing for the appreciation of these artworks as resulting from an efficient hybridization process.

 


[1] See: TÁVORA, Bernardo Ferrão de Tavares e, Imaginária Luso-oriental, Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1983, pp. 83-93; OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim (vol. 1), Porto: Dissertação de Mestrado em História da Arte, FLUP, 1996, p. 85

[2] See: TÁVORA, Bernardo Ferrão de Tavares e, Imaginária Luso-oriental, p. 86; OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, p. 82

[3] See: OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, p. 86-88; TÁVORA, Bernardo Ferrão de Tavares e, Imaginária Luso-oriental, p. 88.

[4] See: MARCOS, Margarida Mercedes Estella, Marfiles de las províncias ultramarinas orientales de España e Portugal, Monterrey: G.M. Editores, 2010, pp. 283-287

[5] See: DIAS, Pedro, A arte do marfim, o mundo onde os portugueses chegaram, Porto: V.O.C. Antiguidades, Lda., 2004, p. 70

[6] See: OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, p. 109-110

[7] See: MARCOS, Margarida Mercedes Estella, Marfiles de las províncias ultramarinas orientales de España y Portugal, p. 287; OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, p. 79-81

[8]See: TÁVORA, Bernardo Ferrão de Tavares e, Imaginária Luso-oriental, p. 86


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São Roque

Fine Furniture, Silver, Portuguese Tiles and Ceramics, Arts of the Portuguese Expansion, Chinese Porcelain, Fine Arts

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