Folding fan: M.349-1985

Current Location: Gallery 34 (Fan Gallery)

Maker(s)

Entities

Folding fan

Description

Folding fan, sticks of bone, pierced and painted with bodycolour and lacquer with applied,stamped gold spangles. Ribbon of green moiré. Guards of carved and painted ivory, thumb guard of tortoiseshell (27+2). Rivet of iron and washer of horn. Front: the upper part is pierced with different patterns in four zones, seperated by rows of different spangles and decorated with eleven miniature portraits on ovals in the middle; on the bottom, a little chinoiserie with four circus acrobats. The ribbon is fixed on top of the sticks. Back: two rows of leaf, flower and snail spangles and a chinoiserie with three figures on the bottom (Indistinct trees in the medallions). Guards: both are decorated in a similar way: a lozenge, a burning heart on a blue roughened background, a man in an oval and a shell on a rough blue surface. The reverse of the guards are decorated with sprays of flowers and a Chinese figure.

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

18th Century, Early#
Production date: circa AD 1700

Note

European, possibly Dutch

In common with very early brisé fans, this fan has the connecting ribbon on the top edge.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Sticks composed of spangles ( gold) bone
Ribbon composed of moiré ( green)
Rivet composed of iron
Washer composed of horn
Thumbguard composed of tortoise shell
Guards composed of ivory Length 21.6 cm
Sticks+guards