Brisé fan: M.107-1985

Current Location: Gallery 34 (Fan Gallery)

Maker(s)

Entities

Brisé fan

Description

Brisé fan, sticks of shaped, fretted, pierced, carved and painted ivory, guards of fretted and carved ivory with a magnifying glass in a brass frame at each end. Ribbon of cream textile (new). Front: In the centre, a medallion painted with a women and a man who is cutting their initials in a tree. The circle is flanked by two cartouches with baskets of flowers. All the sticks have large holes on top which overlap when the fan is open. Back: undecorated. Guards: foliage under a man holding a hat standing under a tree. The front guards and back guard have a magnifying glass fixed onto the loops on top. When the fan is closed all the loops form a window.

Notes

History note: Colonel Leonard C. Messel (1872-1953); his daughter Anne, Countess of Rosse (1902-1992)

Legal notes

Purchased with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and a gift from The Friends of the Fitzwilliam Museum

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1985-01-28) by Countess of Rosse, Anne

Dating

19th Century, Early#
Louis XVIII
Production date: circa AD 1820

Note

Sticks and guards of shaped, fretted, pierced, and carved ivory. The sticks are painted, and the guards are set with quizzing glasses. The cream ribbon is recent. The central medallion shows Paris and Oenone from Ovid’s Heroides, derived from Francesco Bartolozzi’s print of 1780, after the painting by Angelika Kauffmann (1741-1807). When the fan is closed, the loops on the top form a win¬dow, and the two glasses in the guards serve as a spy glass.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Sticks+guards composed of bodycolour ( probably) ivory
Ribbon composed of silk ( probably)
Frame composed of brass (alloy)
Guards Length 18.9 cm
Sticks