Goan ivory sculpture representing Infant Jesus as the Good Shepherd, remarkable for its sculptural work, which demonstrates the skill of an experienced ivory carver with a refined aesthetic sense. Dating from the 17th century, this piece illustrates the Gospel episode of the Good Shepherd, the Parable of the Lost Sheep, in which Christ protects and guides His flock (the faithful), leading the lost sheep (the sinner) back to the fold.

The composition is set upon a terraced hill, with delicately worked levels adorned with vegetal and zoomorphic elements. At the top, the Child is seated upon a heart-shaped element pierced by two arrows. Harmoniously proportioned, He has short hair styled in locks, a rounded face, aquiline nose, and thin lips, features typical of 17th-century Indo-Portuguese art. As in other Indian representations of the Good Shepherd, the Child appears asleep. His ecstatic posture[1], inspired by Buddha, conveys a state of absent yet expectant concentration, visible in the serene expression, closed eyes, faint smile, fingers resting on the temples, and head gently inclined on the right hand. He wears a traditional half-sleeved and knee-length shepherd’s tunic, with a looped knot cord encircling his waist. The tunic is adorned with facetted diamond points simulating animal fleece and trimmed with smooth borders. Finely carved sandals complete the figure. He also bears His customary attributes: a pouch and a waist hanging gourd, as well as two lambs, one on his left shoulder and another on His lap, both with their wool represented by diamond-point carving. Beneath His crossed feet, the flock spreads out down the hill among Birds of Paradise, symbolising the souls of the world.

The Child follows the prototype found in Indo-Portuguese representations of the Good Shepherd, both in attire and in facial features. However, unlike the more common iconographic position of sitting atop a rock, sometimes with His foot on a skull, He rests cross-legged on a heart pierced by a pair of arrows[2]. This symbol emerged in the late Middle Ages, likely illustrating Saint Augustine’s expression, “You have stricken my heart with Your word, and I loved You” becoming an iconographic attribute of the saint[3]. Later, the Mystical Transverberation of Saint Teresa in 1560, and a Carmelite nun’s testimony claiming to have seen the Infant Jesus seated on Saint Teresa’s heart, certainly contributed to the spread of this motif[4].

The pedestal, of canonical type in the form of a rocky outcrop, is developed in four superimposed registers[5]. 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”, later the “Fountain of Life” of Biblical tradition, a clear allusion to Christ as the Source of Spiritual Life for His flock, the faithful souls[6]. From the top of the stem, two streams of water flow to nourish a pair of Birds of Paradise, an allegory to the Divine Word[7].

Flanking the fountain, the Virgin Mary on the right and Saint Joseph on the left, the former with her hands joined and the second with crossed arms, are depicted in prayer.

Above the Fountain of Life rises the Allegory of the Pelican, wounding its own breast to feed its three chicks, symbolising Christ’s Sacrifice and the Eucharist, representing the Body and Blood of Christ.

On the second level, the grotto lined with palms features Saint John the Baptist giving water to a sheep. The saint, seated, with dishevelled hair and barefoot, wears an animal-skin tunic fastened with a leather belt. On either side, two fountains spout water into basins refreshing two pairs of Birds of Paradise.

The third level, housing the Nativity scene, reveals a grotto lined with clouds, topped by three angel heads. The depiction follows the 15th-century model disseminated by Franciscan devotion: the Infant Jesus naked and lying on straw, adored by the Virgin Mary, to the right, and Saint Joseph, to the left, in prayer surrounded by two animals. Both are dressed according to late 15th/16th-century models—Mary with a tunic and head veil, Joseph in tunic, mantle, and hat (symbolising Mary’s virginity) draped over his back. On either side of the Child are two angels, and further away, two shepherds bearing offerings, symbolise the spread of the Good News[8].

On each side of the cave are Mary Magdalene and Saint Joseph. Mary Magdalene, on the right, with long loose hair, wears a long tunic. Seated, holding her right knee, a perfume jar lies to her left, indicating her repentance, and a crucifix to her right, symbolises her love for the Crucified Christ and devotion to His Passion[9]. Saint Joseph is depicted according to his usual physical prototype: bald, round skull with a curl on his forehead. Impassive in expression, he is seated barefoot in prayer.

The base of the pedestal is adorned with a sequence of winged cherub heads, finely sculpted with delicate features, smooth curls, and fragments of drapery cascading from the neck across the chest. A small, beaded band frames the lower edge of the pedestal.

The removable branches representing the Tree of Life, which would have emerged from visible holes on the lower sides and back of the pedestal, are absent.

The wide range and complexity of the sculpture’s imagery indicate that it was probably inspired by European models that circulated broadly in the form of prints and engravings. These visual sources were assimilated and reshaped by Indian craftsmen[10].

Because of its strong blend of cultural and religious elements, the figure of the Good Shepherd has come to be seen as one of the most distinctive Christian images developed within the Portuguese overseas expansion. It brings together motifs from Christianity as well as from Buddhist and Hindu iconography[11]. This fusion provides crucial insight into the religious environment in which they were created. It demonstrates how missionary strategies aimed at adapting Christian themes to local audiences worked alongside an intentional move away from strict European models, resulting in artworks that embody a successful and highly original process of hybridization.

Marta Silva Pereira

[1] 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

[2] See OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, pp. 79-86

[3] See CARDOSO, Isabel Maria Alçada, Da humildade à caridade: o “coração” em Santo Agostinho, Revista Didaskalia (Vol. 47), Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 2017, pp. 163-167

[4] See OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, p. 84

[5] 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.

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

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

[8] See OSSWALD, Maria Cristina, O Bom Pastor na Imaginária Indo-portuguesa em Marfim, pp. 91-92

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

[10] 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

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