Carved in the round and finished with a dark wax.

The wings, trumpet and fingers of Fama’s left hand are missing, as is an object in her right hand. The pedestal is probably not original.

…; first recorded in the museum in 1970¹¹Note RMA.

Object number: BK-18762

This rosewood figure depicts Fama, the goddess of Fame and Rumour. Her wings and the trumpet she would have been blowing have been lost, as has the object in her right hand. It could have been a second trumpet symbolizing the spreading of false rumours. However, in view of those negative connotations, this simple, decorative statuette is more likely to have been accompanied by a laurel wreath, symbolizing victory. The function of the piece is not known. It might have formed the top of a piece of furniture.²²First suggested by Willy Halsema-Kubes, Note RMA. For instance, longcase clocks were often topped with two trumpet-blowing Famas, flanking an Atlas – all made of brass (cf. BK-1967-144; BK-1960-25; BK-1960-20). An elevated position would explain why the present Fama’s gaze is fixed so explicitly downwards. However, if it had been part of a clock, it is not logical that the dark-brown paint on the surface gave the wood the appearance of bronze rather than brass. Also, Fama is not portrayed balancing elegantly on one leg, as is customary with clocks, but walking purposefully. This feature is more in line with figureheads found on ships. She could be a model for such a figurehead. Several comparable models of figureheads – all executed in wood, albeit on a smaller scale and still complete with their supporting ships’ knees – are preserved in the museum’s collection (cf. NG-MC-1039; NG-MC-1043; NG-MC-1044).

The style of the statuette is reminiscent of small-scale sculptures by Michiel Emanuel Shee (c. 1695-1739), who worked in The Hague and Amsterdam. For example, Fama’s round face, hairdo and rather plump body with a somewhat protruding abdomen have striking parallels with the boxwood _Cupid and Psyche signed by Shee and dated 1737, to be found in the Amsterdam Museum.³³Amsterdam Museum, inv. nos. BA 3753.1 and BA 3753.2, see M. Jonker et al., In beeld gebracht: Beeldhouwkunst uit de collectie van het Amsterdams Historisch Museum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1995, nos. 237 and 238. Although the folds of Fama’s garment are not fluid enough in refinement for attribution to Shee himself, her kinship with his style is strong enough to also place the figure in the Northern Netherlands in the second quarter of the eighteenth century.

Bieke van der Mark, 2025

J. Leeuwenberg with the assistance of W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, coll. cat. Amsterdam 1973, no. 400

B. van der Mark, 2025, 'anonymous, Fama, Northern Netherlands, c. 1725 - c. 1750', in F. Scholten and B. van der Mark (eds.), European Sculpture in the Rijksmuseum, online coll. cat. Amsterdam: https://data.rijksmuseum.nl/20035837