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Fine-grained Jurassic limestone quarried near Solnhofen, north of Augsburg, has been cut and polished to render the lad's sleek limbs and finely wrought armour, selected elements - eyes and lips, collar, skirt, and base - have been accented with colour; the shield is entirely painted.
Such figures have Italian prototypes, for example those carved by Desiderio da Settignano for the monument of Carlo Marsuppini in the church of Santa Croce, Florence. When placed before a chapel or a monument, the Shield Bearers acted as pages, presenting the lord's coat of arms and standing like sentinels before a sacred precinct. The present Shield Bearer is one of the two figures which once flanked the entrance portal of the ducal chapel, executed by Adolf and Hans Daucher, in Meissen Cathedral.
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