Page 248 - Bonhams Catalog Cohen and Cohen Jan 24, 2023 New York

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A VERY RARE ENAMELED PORCELAIN FIGURE OF THE Provenance:
‘ANGEL OF FAME’ Fred Nadler, Naples, Florida
Qianlong period, circa 1755
An extremely rare porcelain figure of an angel, modelled after a Delft Published:
original, painted in rich enamels wearing a scaly chain-mail vest with Cohen & Cohen, Angels & Demonslayers, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 44-
pointed green apron at the front and scrolling clouds in blue and white 45, no. 27
enamels to the skirt which hangs down the back of the legs, holding
a trumpet in his raised right hand to his lips and with rouged puffed 出版：
cheeks, the left hand holding a short staff, separately-made blue and 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Angels & Demonslayers》，香
white glazed wings attached at the back, all supported on a mound 港，2012年，頁44-45，圖版編號27
of flowerheads atop a green-glazed spreading stand of rococo silver
shape painted with further flowerheads and applied at the corners with This Chinese figure is previously unrecorded. However, a very rare
blue and pink enameled cartouches. version in Dutch delft is known which must surely have been the model
11in (28cm) high for this example. (fig.1) The delft model differs in the base shape and
is molded as one piece, including the wings. These figures appear to
$6,000 - 10,000 have been derived from an ornament print by Jean Le Pautre. (fig.2)
乾隆時期 約1755年 釉上彩《名望之天使》擺飾 The figure is the Angel of Fame or the personification of fame and
renown (Roman: Fama; Greek: Pheme or Ossa), representing power
and glory. On those she favored she showered renown but on those
who offended her she bestowed scandal and infamy. Virgil described
her as having “her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds,
making the small seem great and the great seem greater.”

She is traditionally shown blowing a trumpet through which she
is bestowing fame. In the other hand she often carries a second
trumpet, sometimes smaller to ‘blow’ scandal, or a wreath to add to
the favored hero. In other depictions she leads a winged stallion and
holds a caduceus. In this model the staff is a later replacement, but
the trumpet is a porcelain original. Most of the delft examples have
wooden trumpets of later date.
This Chinese version has lost the globe base (representing the world
throughout which fame is proclaimed) and instead has a more colorful
floral base similar to examples in western porcelain, such as Bow.
This Angel was a particular favorite with the early settlers and
(fig.1) (fig.2) revolutionaries in America and is sometime depicted holding the badge
for the Order of Cincinnati, which was reproduced on Chinese export
porcelain in a dinner service for George Washington.

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