GOA, WESTERN INDIA, 18TH CENTURY

This delicate figure represents the Christ Child as the Good Shepherd asleep, with two lambs and a gourd of water; it was very likely part of a larger composition with Christ Child sitting on a mountain above a fountain and Marie Magdalene lying at the base and reading a book (see two complete examples at the Victoria and Albert Museum, ref. A.27-1984 and ref. A.38-1921). The typical composition would have had Christ Child on the top of the mountain, with Saints and vegetation at the bottom.