Description
An exceptional fine antique Staffordshire pottery pearlware bocage figure of a shepherd carrying a ewe on his shoulders. The shepherd is standing on a green grassy mound and is well modeled with good attention to detail. The potters inspired by the sentiments from the parable of “The Lost Sheep Found” in the book of Saint Luke from the New Testament. “Which of you men, if you had one hundred sheep, and lost one of them, wouldn’t leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one that was lost, until he found it? When he has found it, he carries it on his shoulders, rejoicing. When he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ ‚Äî Luke 15:3-7, World English Bible This story inspired many depictions in various art forms over the centuries.