Folding fan: MAR.M.237-1912

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown

Entities

• Folding fan

Categories

• Fans

Description

Folding fan, single leaf paper painted in bodycolour and watercolour, applied pieces of paper and mother-of-pearl. Sticks of carved and pierced ivory (20+2). Rivet of metal; washer of ivory. Front: the front leaf shows 'Caesar and Cleopatra' after Pietro da Cortona; the back chinoiseries.

Folding fan, single leaf paper painted in bodycolour and watercolour, applied pieces of paper and mother-of-pearl. Sticks of carved and pierced ivory (20+2). Rivet of metal; washer of ivory. Front: the front leaf shows 'Caesar and Cleopatra' after Pietro da Cortona (1596-1666) but the design is reversed. The scene shows Caesar giving back the throne to Cleopatra, which her sister had usurped. In the centre, Caesar is wearing a classical cuirass and a wreath of leaves; Cleopatra, dressed in a classical style, is stepping up to him. The scene is set on a podium with columns in the background. On the left, Caesar is reaching for a sceptre, which, together with a crown, is lying on a magnificent throne, which has legs shaped like a lion's mask and leg. Further to the left, Cleopatra's sister is watching the scene; behind her and Caesar soldiers are watching from the background. On the right, two women behind Cleopatra, further two soldiers and a vase. The leaf is bordered by a rococo gold pattern of striped cartouches and plant motifs; some blossoms and leaves are made of applied paper or little mother-of-pearl pieces. The top and edging are of thin gold foile. Back: Chinoiseries in bodycolour and watercolour; the lower half of the leaf has a brown background; the upper part has been left white. From left to right: a tree with two birds, a spray of roses, a Chinese man with a bow and an arrow behind a rock, a Chinese woman with a sunshade and a prunus branch; only the top edging is of gold foile. Sticks: finely carved and pierced striations and scrolls; cartouches showing from left to right: a man playing the flute and a woman playing the mandolin, both in contemporary dress; two half naked boys, one holding a spear, the other wearing an antique helmet playing the drums. The medallion in the centre shows two classical warriors in parallel movement, one of them probably Minerva, and two putti; two half-naked boys, one holding a spear, the other playing the drums but without a helmet. The last medallion shows a woman who is being watched by a man behind a curtain. The reverse is undecorated. Guards; both guards are carved in a similar way except for the decoration on the shoulder. The front guard shows two doves sitting on a quiver with arrows, the background a mandolin and a flute with pierced striations. the guard proper with silver and gold foile shows a vase, a scrolling ornament, a column, two doves holding a wreath, one sitting on a quiver with a sceptre in the background, the other flying; two stars on top.

Legal notes

C.B. Marlay Bequest

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1912) by Marlay, Charles Brinsley

Dating

18th Century, Late
Production date: circa AD 1770

School or Style

Neoclassical at the front; Oriental style at the back.