Vatican Museums

The statuette depicts a shepherd resting on a gnarled stick and carrying a sheep on his shoulders. The work in its current state is in part the result of minor adjustments carried out in 1757 by the sculptor Cavaceppi at the time of its acquisition by the Pius-Christian Museum. Indeed, originally it would have been the decorative support for a marble table (trapezòforo), as revealed by traces still present on the back. As is known, the figure of the shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulders is an image widely used long before its appropriation by Christianity and its infusion with new meaning in relation to Christ the "Good Shepherd" (Jn 10, 11) and the parable of the lost sheep (Mt 18, 12-14; Lk 15, 4-7). Therefore, since this sculpture in the Pius-Christian Museum dates from the beginning of the fourth century, it is difficult to ascertain, in the absence of indications regarding its provenance, the origin of the work in a specific religious or secular context.