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Statuette of a shepherd carrying a sheep
Roman
Late Imperial Period
late 3rd to 4th century A.D.
Medium/Technique
Marble probably from the island of Prokonnesos near Istanbul
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI252: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.89 / delta18O -2.02, Attribution - Probably Prokonnesos, Justification - Coarse grained marble.
(BASE)Harvard Lab No. HI253: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.12 / delta18O -2.67, Attribution - Probably Prokonnesos, Justification - Coarse grained marble
Scientific Analysis:
Harvard Lab No. HI252: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.89 / delta18O -2.02, Attribution - Probably Prokonnesos, Justification - Coarse grained marble.
(BASE)Harvard Lab No. HI253: Isotope ratios - delta13C +2.12 / delta18O -2.67, Attribution - Probably Prokonnesos, Justification - Coarse grained marble
Dimensions
38.1 cm (15 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Jerome M. and Alan J. Eisenberg
Accession Number1988.463
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSculpture
DescriptionA young shepherd (no beard) wearing an exomis (a short tunic that leaves one shoulder bare), an unusual cap ("Phrygian" cap) with flaps held up by rope, and boots. The folds of the drapery fall in heavy, almost regularized patterns. He supports a ram across his shoulders, with his right hand grasping the animal’s forelegs and his left its near, rear leg with the far, rear leg left to hang free on the other side of the shepherd’s forearm. The figure stands on a cluster of acanthus and is supported by a tree stump that reaches his hip. Similar statuettes served architectural/decorative function in private houses and public spaces—they might be found as well in places of worship and cemeteries.
Condition: There is a break in the figure at the overfold of the tunic. The round base is a modern addition.
Probably from Asia Minor.
Condition: There is a break in the figure at the overfold of the tunic. The round base is a modern addition.
Probably from Asia Minor.
ProvenanceDecember 11, 1987, sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, lot 45, to Jerome M. and Alan J. Eisenberg, New York; 1988, gift of Jerome M. and Alan J. Eisenberg to the MFA. (Accession Date: October 26, 1988)