Many years ago I acquired a fragment of Roman North African redware from the 4th century AD. Part of the moulded design featured a sheep. I've recently come across a similar bowl that allows me to postulate what the full design is.
On a dish recently offered for sale the design has been shown to be the raising of Lazarus, the sheep and the foot of the right hand character being visible on the fragment.
Lazarus is shown as a figure wrapped in a shroud within a pedestal tomb and Jesus is depicted as the Good Shepherd carrying a staff and herding a ram. To the other side is a bearded figure with his hand raised in praise.
Early depictions of Jesus are not common though the story of the raising of Lazarus was popular in Roman funerary art, most notably on the wall frescoes in the catacombs in Rome due to the obvious importance of the message of resurrection.
