Will the shepherd be able to play the alpine horn with that huge goiter (XVI century)?

Abstract

There are many of the representations in iconography of individuals with goiters reported in the literature. The article describe a unique representation of goiter, as observed by the authors in a sculpture in Italy. In a Nativity, in the upper part of the altar of the Church of the Annunciata, Boccioleto (Val Sermenza, Piedmont, Italy), a horn player with a huge goiter, gladdens the Holy Family. Wooden work by Francesco Antonio d'Alberto, 1694. This is an appropriate example of the iconography of "real goiter," since in this case the sculptor had the aim of showing person with goiter.