A VERY RARE ENAMELED PORCELAIN FIGURE OF THE 'ANGEL OF FAME' Qianlong period, circa 1755 An extremely rare porcelain figure of an angel, modelled after a Delft original, painted in rich enamels wearing a scaly chain-mail vest with pointed green apron at the front and scrolling clouds in blue and white 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 cheeks, the left hand holding a short staff, separately-made blue and white glazed wings attached at the back, all supported on a mound of flowerheads atop a green-glazed spreading stand of rococo silver shape painted with further flowerheads and applied at the corners with blue and pink enameled cartouches. 11in (28cm) high Footnotes: 乾隆時期 約1755年 釉上彩《名望之天使》擺飾 Provenance: Fred Nadler, Naples, Florida Published: Cohen & Cohen, Angels & Demonslayers, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 44-45, no. 27 來源： 佛羅里達州，那不勒斯，Fred Nadler舊藏 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Angels & Demonslayers》，香港，2012年，頁44-45，圖版編號27 This Chinese figure is previously unrecorded. However, a very rare version in Dutch delft is known which must surely have been the model 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 have been derived from an ornament print by Jean Le Pautre. (fig. 2) 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 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.