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Lot Essay
Unassociated with either a pagan or Christian context, it is impossible to know if this ram-bearing figure represents Orpheus or Christ as the Good Shepherd. The early Christians often adopted pagan iconography to express their beliefs and therefore the new Christian repertoire of religious imagery derived in many instances directly from pagan precedents. In a Christian context, Christ was the Good Shepherd who brought salvation to his flock (Luke 15:3-7; John 10:1-16). According to Frazer (p. 513 in Weitzmann, ed., Age of Spirituality, Late Antique and Early Christian Art, Third to Seventh Century ), "the model for this Christ derives from a classical, bucolic ram-bearing shepherd, which personified philanthropy and when used in funerary monuments implied the promise of salvation." Frazier concedes, "so similar is the Christian shepherd to its pagan model that it is often impossible to determine if the shepherd is actually Christ."
Carder informs (p. 519, op. cit.) that "the youthful ram-bearing shepherd has a long tradition of pagan usage (offering bearer, bucolic figure, personification of Winter, Hermes psychopompos), but in the Late Antique period this image acquired a general philanthropic savior symbolism."
For a close parallel, similarly exploiting the dual tones in the stone, from the George Ortiz Collection, see no. 466, pp. 521-522 in Weitzmann, ed., op. cit.
Carder informs (p. 519, op. cit.) that "the youthful ram-bearing shepherd has a long tradition of pagan usage (offering bearer, bucolic figure, personification of Winter, Hermes psychopompos), but in the Late Antique period this image acquired a general philanthropic savior symbolism."
For a close parallel, similarly exploiting the dual tones in the stone, from the George Ortiz Collection, see no. 466, pp. 521-522 in Weitzmann, ed., op. cit.