The Mystery of Yorkshire in (nearly) 100 Objects

 

 

Number 73

(Inca Gold Llama)

A Pennine Sheep visited by a Bird

Bronze 19x10x8cm

 

Parallels can be traced between the religious and social relationship the Inca forged with the llama, and the religious and social role of the sheep in Christian societies. Both animals had the additional misfortune to be sacrificial.

This bronze sheep is based on a carving from a sarcophagus in Ravenna. Here the Lamb of God is replaced with a Derbyshire Gritstone sheep. Hardy, robust and hornless, this ancient native breed thrives throughout the Yorkshire Moors and Pennines.  For centuries herds have provided meat and wool while their grazing maintains the grassy character of our Northern uplands and National Parks.