Full text of "History of the fan"

See other formats

RY OF THE FAN

N700LLISCROFT RHEAD

;

w*%

* :"./, »/

*^H

LIBRARY

Gift of

Mrs.

Leroy M. Lewis,

Jr.

braille des Arts Decoratifs & Inrinstriels

OUVRAGES A GRANDS RABAIS

LOUIS DE MEULENEERB

:leph. 21, Rue du Chene tki.kimi.

m • 7nft3 _ Sablon : 2083

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This edition is limited to 450 copies
for sale in Europe and the British
Dominions, of which this is
JVo.<?J.

•a

3 .. W

3 ill

H ISTORY OF

THE FAN

BY G. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD

R.E.; HON. A.R.C.A. LOND.; AUTHOR OF 'THE PRINCIPLES
OF DESIGN'; 'A HANDBOOK OF ETCHING'; 'THE TREAT-
MENT OF DRAPERY IN ART'; 'STUDIES IN PLANT FORM'
'CHATS ON COSTUME,' ETC.; JOINT AUTHOR OF
'STAFFORDSHIRE POTS AND POTTERS'
'BRITISH POTTERY MARKS'

LONDON

KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO. Ltd.

DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W.

1910

Edinburgh : T. and A. Constable, Printers to His Majesty

DEDICATED

(BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION)

HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF WALES

PUBLISHERS NOTE

THE majority of the blocks in this work were
made direct from the actual Fans by Messrs.
John Swain and Sons, to whom the Publishers are
indebted for the skill and ingenuity with which they
have overcome the many special difficulties incidental
not only to the subjects themselves, but to the conditions
under which many of those in private houses had to
be reproduced.

The Colour Plates are printed by Messrs. Edmund
Evans.

The block of the Fan Mount by Rosa Bonheur
was made by Mr. F. Jenkins in Paris.

The block of the Japanese Fan Mount, The Tama-
gawa River, is by the Grout Engraving Company.

The lithograph of Bacchus and Ariadne is by
Messrs. Martin, Hood and Larkin.

PREFACE

IT is, perhaps, a little singular that up to the present
no work making any pretension to completeness has
appeared in English dealing with that little instrument
so intimately associated with both civil and religious
life of the past, the Fan. Even on the Continent the
literature of the Fan is exceedingly scanty. M. Blondel's
work, Histoire des Eventails, published in 1875, is but sparsely illus-
trated, and is mainly based upon the researches of M. Natalis Rondot,
whose Rapport stir les objets de Par lire was undertaken at the instance
of the French Government in 1854. An English translation of M. Octave
Uzanne's brilliant sketch appeared in 1884, and is unillustrated except
by fanciful border designs ; while Lady Charlotte Schreiber's stately
tomes and Mrs. Salwey's Fans of Japan deal only with more or less
isolated portions of the subject. These, together with Der Packer,
by Georg Buss, appearing in 1904, one or two illustrated catalogues
and a few desultory magazine articles, form the sum-total of the Fan's
literature. This paucity of book material, and the general absence of
information amongst individuals, is at once an advantage and a dis-
advantage. I have in dealing with this subject such benefits as the
breaking of new ground gives ; I have at the same time to contend with
the difficulty of collecting information from sources so scattered, and in
many instances so obscure.

To the works above mentioned, which indeed have been most helpful,
it is only justice to add the admirable article on ' Les Disques cruciferes,
le Flabellum, et rUmbella,' in La Revue de I Art Ckre'tien, by M. Charles
de Linas ; the sparkling and entertaining 'History on Fans' by Henri
Bouchot in Art and Letters for 1883 ; an excellent article on Chinese

Fans by H. A. Giles in Preiser's Magazine for May 1879; articles in
b ix

HISTORY OF THE FAN

various publications by MM. Paul Mantz and Charles Blanc ; all these
I have freely used, and gladly acknowledge my indebtedness.

But, since it is scarcely possible, in a subject covering such an extended
area, to avoid inaccuracies of some sort, I must endeavour to forestall any
possible criticism by saying that no pains have been spared to render the
book as free from errors as may be. As to the line illustrations, they
must be considered merely diagrammatic, and not in any sense realistic
representations of the various objects.

I welcome this opportunity of making what is an unusually long list
of acknowledgments of help received. Firstly, to my Publishers for their
enterprise, the admirable manner in which the book is produced, and for
their uniform courtesy. Secondly, to the many owners of fans, these
including the most exalted personages, who have so generously responded
to my invitation to lend their fragile treasures.

My thanks are also due to the officials of the various Museums, those

of the Print Room of the British, and the National Art Library, Victoria

and Albert Museums; to Sir C. Purdon Clarke, C.I.E., F.S.A., and his

son, Mr. Stanley Clarke of the India Museum ; Dr. Peter Jessen of the

Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin ; Professor Pazaurek, Stuttgart ; Dr. Hans

W. Singer ; to Sir George Birdwood, K.C.I.E., C.S.I., who has kindly read

the three chapters on ancient fans ; to Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie,

D.C.L.; Mr. W. Holman Hunt, O.M., R.W.S.; Sir L. Alma-Tadema,

O.M., R.A.; the Rev. J. Foster, D.C.L. ; the Clerk of the Worshipful

Company of Fanmakers ; the Librarian at Welbeck ; Mr. Wilson Crewdson ;

Mr. W. Harding Smith; Mr. W. L. Behrens ; Mr. R. Phene Spiers;

Mr. G. F. Clausen; Mr. J. Ettlinger; Mons. J. Duvelleroy ; Mr. H.

Granville Fell; Mr. Frank Brangwyn, A.R.A.; Mr. Talbot Hughes; Mr.

Frank Falkner, for help in various ways ; and last, though by no means

least, to Mrs. E. P. Medley, for most valuable assistance in translation.

London, 1909. G. WoOLLlSCROFT Rhead.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PREFACE ........... ix

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi"

CHAPTER I
THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN i

CHAPTER II
FANS OF THE ANCIENTS 10

CHAPTER III

FANS OF THE FAR EAST 33

CHAPTER IV
FANS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES 77

CHAPTER V
THE FLABELLUM AND EARLY FEATHER-FAN «7

CHAPTER VI
PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES (ITALIAN AND SPANISH) 107

CHAPTER VII

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES (FRENCH) .138

HISTORY OF THE FAN

CHAPTER VIII

PAGE

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES (ENGLISH, DUTCH, FLEMISH, AND GERMAN) . 176

CHAPTER IX

ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES. FART 1 304

CHAPTER X

ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES. PART II 232

CHAPTER XI
MODERN AND PRESENT DAY FANS

272

INDEX

301

PEACOCK.PEATHER I AW

[l Mm it Japanese Painting. British Museum.)

Xll

ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR

i. RINALDO IN THE GARDEN OF ARMIUA. Louis XV. H.R.H. The Princess of

Wales

Frontispiece

TO FACE TAr.E

2. A CONCERT. Dutch. H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

3. LA DANSE, AFTER LANCRET. Dr. Law Adam

4. SEA NYMPHS. Italian. Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts, M.P.

5. THE RAPE OF HELEN. 'Vernis Martin.' Lady Lindsay

6. CHINESE FAN. Filigree and Enamel. Mr. M. Tomkinson

7. CHINESE FAN. Red Lacquer. Miss Moss

8. HOTEI AND THE CHILDREN. By KanO-Sho-Yei, 1591. Mr. Wilson Crewdson.

9. THE TAMAGAWA RIVER. By Rang San Raku. Mr. Wilson Crewdson

10. CUT VELLUM FAN. Mr. L. C. R. Messel ....

11. F'AN MOUNT. Bacchus and Ariadne. Mrs. Bruce-Johnston Between pages is

12. PIAZZA OF ST. MARK. Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts, M.P.

13. SPANISH FAN PAINTED IN THE CHINESE TASTE. Lady Lindsay

14. PASTORELLE. Spanish. H.S.H. Princess Victor ok Hohenlohe-Langenburg

15. BULL FIGHTS. Spanish. Lady Northcliffe .....

16. PASTORELLE. Louis XV. Wvatt Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum

17. MOMENS MUSICALS. 'Vernis Martin.* Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, C.V.O.

18. THE RAPE OF HELEN. 'Vernis Martin.' Lady Northcliffe

19. DIDO AND /ENEAS. Mrs. Bischoffsheim. Facing reverse of same Fan between

pages 162 and 163

20. 'CABRIOLET' FAN. Lady Northcliffe ....... 164

xiii

8
27
3°
46

107

2 and 123

125
127

■32

134
'38

142

158

HISTORY OF THE FAN

TO FACE TAGE

21. DIRECTOIRE AND EMPIRE FANS. Miss Ethel Travlrs Birdwood, and

Mr. L. C. R. Messel, facing 'Sans Gene' and Empire Fans

Between pages 170 and 171

22. TELEMACHUS AND CALYPSO. The Dowacer Marchioness of Bristol . . 176

23. WEDDING FAN. Directoire. Mr. L. C. R. Messel ..... 188

24. WEDDING FAN. H.R.H. Princess Henrv of Battenberg .... 272

25. LE CERF DE ST. HUBERT. By Rosa Bonhkur. M. Georges Cain . . 280

26. THE RED FAN. Conversations Galantes. By Charles Conder. Mr. John Lane 294

27. THE BLUE FAN. By Frank Brancwyn, A.R.A. ..... 296

ILLUSTRATIONS IN HALF-TONE

28. LE BAL D'AMOURS. H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll .

29. HOMMAGES OFFERED TO MADAME DE POMPADOUR. Mrs. Bruce-Johnston

30. EGYPTIAN FAN HANDLES. British Museum ....

31. TERRACOTTA STATUETTES. „

32. AN EASTERN POTENTATE TAKING TEA. Mrs. Hungerford Pollen

33. INDIAN FLY-WHISKS AND PEACOCK EMBLEM OF ROYALTY. India Museum

34. LARGE HAND-FAN OK SANDALWOOD. Mrs. Hungerford Pollen

35. FLAG AND PALM-LEAF FANS. India Museum

36. CHINESE FAN. Filigree and Enamel. Victoria and Albert Museum

37. HAND-SCREEN, Front and Reverse. Mr. Wilson Crewdson

38. LACQUERED FAN. Lady Northcliffe .....
CARVED IVORY FAN WITH THE NAME ANGELA. Mr W. Burdett-Couits, M.P

39. CHINESE FAN WITH IVORY MINIATURES. Mr. W. Bukdett-Coutts, M.P.

40. CHINESE FEATHER-FAN (ARGUS PHEASANT) WITH CASE. Victoria and

Albert Museum ........

41. NETSUKI (DAI TENGU). Mr. W. L. Behrens .
CAMP-FAN OF EAGLE FEATHERS. Mr. L. C. R. Messel .
DAGGER-FAN. Mr. W. L. Behrens .....

42. SUYE HIRO OGI (Wide End) Open and Closed. Mr. W. Harding Smith

43. AKOME OGI (COURT FAN). Mr. Wilson Crewdson .
WAR FAN (GUN SEN). Mr. W. Harding Smith

xiv

U
28

33
38
41
42
48
5°
54
54
56

59
60
60
60

63
64

44-

45-
46.

47-
48.

49-

BO-
5*-
53-

54-

55-
56.

57.

58-
59

60,

62.
63

65.

66.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN HALF-TONE

Tn FACF I'ACE

FOUR WAR FANS (GUMBAI UCHIWA). Mr. L. C. R. Mf.ssel, Mr. W. Harding
Smith, Mr. W. L. Behrens .......

WAR FANS (GUN SEN). Mr. L. C. R. Messel and Mr. W. Harding Smith

MODERN JAPANESE FANS. Ivory with Gilt Lacquer and Painted Fan signed
' Kunihisa.' Mr. M. Tomkinson . ...

THREE CHUKEI. Mr L. C. R. Messki. .....

PALM-LEAF AND HIDE FANS. British Museum ...

PALM FANS, COCKADE INSCRIPTION FAN, FLY-WHISKS (TAHITI), AND
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN FAN. British Museum

74
76

THE TOURNAMENT. By A. Moreau. Victoria and Aixert Museum
FLABELLUM OF TOURNUS. Museo Nazionai.e. Florence i Facing each other

■ ) 11 i> Details J between pages 90 and 91

IVORY FAN AND FLABELLA HANDLES. British Museum and Victoria and
Albert Museum .......

FAN OF QUEEN THEODOLINDA. Cathedral of Monza

COPTIC FLAG-FANS. Konigl. Museum, Berlin

QUF2EN ANNE FEATHER-SCREEN. Mr. L. C. R. Messel .

DECOUPK FAN. Musee de Cluny ....

FAN OF MICA. Mr. L. C. R. Messel ....

VENUS AND ADONIS. By Leonardo Germo. Wyatt Collection,
Albert Museum .......

AN EMBARCATION. Mrs. Hamilton Smythe .

CUPID'S HIVE. The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol

THE TRIUMPH OF BACCHUS. Lady Northcliffe .

BACCHUS AND ARIADNE. Lady Northcliffe

THE MARRIAGE OF CUPID AND PSYCHE. Mr. Frank Falkner

A SACRIFICE. Mrs. Bruce-Johnston.

Facing the Colour Plate of Bacchus and Ariadne . . . Between pages 122 and 123

RINALDO IN THE GARDEN OF ARMIDA. Miss Moss . . . . 129

CAPTURE OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS. Mr. L. C. R. Messel

BETROTHAL OF LOUIS XVI. WITH MARIE-ANTOINETTE. Mrs. Frank W.
Gibson (Eugenie Joachim) .....

SPANGLED FAN. Spanish. Mr. Talbot Hughes

FETE DE I.'AGRICULTURE, 1798. Mr. L. C. R. Messel .

102

■

109

1 10

Victoria and

114

116

118

121

129

130
136
136

HISTORY OF THE FAN

67.

68.
69.
7°-

7*-

73-
74-

75-
76

77-

78.

79-
80.
81.
82.
83.

84.
85.
86.

87.

S8.

8»

TO KACK PAGE

LA DANSE, AND PASTORELLE. Duchess of Portland .... 141

PASTORELLE, AFTER LANCRET. H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll . 144

ACTVEON FAN. Muske de Cluny . . . . . . . 146

CEPHALUS AND AURORA. Mrs. Bischoffsheim ..... 14S

VFRNIS MARTIN. Mrs. F. R. Palmer 148

A PASTORELLE, WITH TWO PORTRAIT MEDALLIONS. Wyatt Collection,

Victoria and Albert Museum . . . . . . 15°

THE PARTING OF HELEN AND ANDROMACHE. The Dowacer Marchioness

of Bristol . . . 153

BATTOIR FAN. The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol .... 154

FETE CHAMPfiTRE. ' Vernis Martin.' Wyatt Collection, Victoria and Alefrt

Museum . . . . . . . 156

BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST. Metropolitan Museum, New York . . . . 160

BUILDING OF THE PLACE LOUIS XV. The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol 162

DIDO AND /ENEAS. Reverse. Mrs. Bischoffsheim. Facing the Colour Plate of

same Fan ........ Between pages 162 and 163

'CABRIOLET' FAN. The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol \ Facing each other

„ „ „ „ J between pages 164 and 165

WEDDING FAN. The Countess of Bradford ]

„ „ Lady Lindsay j

STICK OF MARIE-ANTOINETTE FAN. Musee du Louvre ....
SANS GENE AND EMPIRE FANS. Mr. L. C. R. Messel. Facing Colour Plate of

Between pages 170 and 17

Facing each other between pages 166 and 167

169

Directoire and Sans Gene Fans

' LORGNETTE ' FANS. Mr. L. C. R. Messel .....

SPANGLED GAUZE FANS. Mr. L. C. R. Messel ....

A LONDON FAN SHOP. Mr. L. C. R. Messel ....

THE SURRENDER OF MALTA. Mrs. Hungerford Pollen .

FETES ON THE OCCASION OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE DAUPHIN. Wyatt

Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum .....
ENGLISH FAN. THE VISIT. Collection of Baroness Meyer de Rothschild
ENGLISH FAN WITH MEDALLIONS AFTER COSWAY. Wyatt Collection

Victoria and Albert Museum .......

IVORY EMPIRE FAN. Lady Northcliffe .....

SPANGLED FAN WITH PAINTED MEDALLIONS. Mrs. Frank W. Gibson

xvi

'73
175
'78
178

180
180

182
184
184

ILLUSTRATIONS IN HALF-TONE

TO FACE PACK

90. WEDDING FAN. Mrs. Hawkins 186

ST. PETER'S, ROME. By J. Goupy. Dr. Law Adam . . . . . 186

91. EARLY DUTCH FAN. The Dowager Marchioness of Bristol . . . 190

92. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Dutch. Miss Moss -i Facing each other

93. AN EMBARCATION. Dutch. M. J. Duvelleroy J between pages 192 and 193

94. DUTCH FAN WITH HEAD ON STICK. Sir L. Alma-Tadema, O.M., R.A.

95. AN OFFERING TO CERES. H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll .

96. DUTCH FAN (DECOUPE). Mrs. Davies-Gilbert ....
DUTCH FAN WITH 'PAGODA' STICK. Mr. L. C. R. Messel .

97. MEDALLION FAN. German. Given by H.R.H. The Duke of Coburg to H.R.H

The Princess Victoria, 1836. H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

98. GERMAN FAN. Given by H.R.H. The Prince Consort to Queen Victoria

„ „ Landesgewerbe Museum, Stuttgart ....

99. TWO GERMAN FANS. Kunstgewerbe Museum, Berlin

100. ENGRAVED HAND-SCREEN. A. Carracci. Schreiber Collection, British Museum

„ „ „ C. F. Horman. „ „ „

101. FETE ON THE ARNO, 'EVENTAIL DE CALLOT.' British Museum

102. GROTESQUE FAN, STYLE OF CALLOT. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

103. THE FOUR AGES. Abraham Bosse ......

104. TITLE-PAGE. Nicholas Loire. Schreiber Collection, British Museum .
LA COQUETTE. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris ....

105. TAKING OF THE BASTILLE. Schreiber Collection, British Museum .
DUC D'ORLEANS. Miss Moss .......

106. ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris .
'CABRIOLET' FAN. Schreiber Collection, British Museum

107. NAPOLEON SHOWS HIS TROOPS THE CHANNEL. Bibliotheque Nationale

Paris ..........

108. PROJECTED INVASION OF ENGLAND, 1803. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris

109. MARRIAGE OF NAPOLEON. Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris
ADVENTURE IN RUSSIA. Schreiber Collection, British Museum

no. A NEW GAME OF PIQUET. Schreiber Collection, British Museum
hi. THE MOTION. Schreiber Collection, British Museum

THE NEW NASSAU FAN. Schreiber Collection, British Museum

c xvii

194
196
198
198

200
200
200
202
204
204
206
208
210
212
212
214
214
222
222

224
226
228
228
232
236
236

HISTORY OF THE FAN

TO FA' E PACK

238

112. THE HARLOT'S PROGRESS. Mr. C. Fairfax Murray

113. VISIT OF GEORGE III. TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY. Mr. F. Perigal .

114. MR. THOMAS OSBORNE'S DUCK-HUNTING. Schreiber Collection, British

Museum ..........

115. THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS. Mr. VV. Burdett-Coutts, M.P. .
THE PARADES OF BATH. Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts, M.P. .

116. A TRIP TO GRETNA. Schreiber Collection, British Museum
'BARTOLOZZI' FAN. Mrs. Frank W. Gibson (Eugenie Joachim) .

11;. MISS CHARLOTTE YONGE'S FAN. Miss Moss ....

FAN OF ASSES' SKIN. Miss Moss

118. PAINTED IVORY BRISE FAN. Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, C.V.O.

PORTUGUESE FAN. Mr. J. H. Etherington-Smith ....

LACE MOUNT. Youghal Co-operative Lace Society

AN ENTOMOLOGIST. Countess Granville .....

COCKS AND HENS. Claudius Popelin. Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris

AUTOGRAPH FAN. Sir Lawrence Alma Tadem,\. O.M., R.A.
„ „ Japanese. Mr. Frank Brangwvn, A.R.A.

122. LACE FAN PRESENTED TO QUEEN ALEXANDRA FOR USE AT CORONA

TION. Her Majesty the Queen ......

123. FEATHER-FAN. H.R.H. The Princess of Wales ....

124. THE MEET. By Charles Detaille. M. J. Duyelleroy

125. LACE FAN. By Alexandre. Victoria and Albert Museum "1 To face each other

126. LACE FAN. M. J. Duvelleroy . . . . .J between pages 292 and 294

127. DESIGN FOR FAN. By Frank Brangwvn, A.R.A. .... 298
A GARLAND OF CHILDREN. By G. Woolhscroft Rhead ... 298

119.

120.
121.

246

252
=58

=58

264

274

276

278

282

284

286
289

290

ILLUSTRATIONS IN LINE

Feather-fan, Nimroud
Peacock-feather Fan
Head-piece .
Initial — Boy with Fan
Tea-fan

xii
xiii

1
9

PAGE

Initial — Vulture with Emblem of Protection 10

Fire-fan, Colombia . . . . I2

Portuguese ' Abano ' . . . . . 12

Plaited Hand-fan, Egyptian . . 13

Hand-fan, Egyptian ,3

XV111

ILLUSTRATIONS IN LINE

Hand-fan, Egyptian
Fly-whisk, Egyptian
Ceremonial Fans — from Rosellini

>> ij ...

Investiture of the Office of Fan-bearer
Umbrella or Canopy of Chariot of Rameses m
Initial — Assyrian Fly-whisk
Assyrian and Persian Fly-whisks .
Covers of Fly-whisks
Tail-piece — from an Assyrian relief
Initial — Greek Girl with Fan
Greek Fans .....
Greek Girl with Fan
Tail-piece — Girl with Fan
Initial — from printed Cotton Hanging, India
Cingalese Sesata .....
Fly-whisk — from an illumination .

,, from a painting on talc, Madras

Emblem of Royalty

Royal Standards .

Hand-fan, .

Plaited-Grass Fan

Flag-fan

Talapat Fan and Pankhas

Burmese Fan of Gold .

Portion of Embroidered Muslin (Chamba,
Nineteenth Century)

Fly-whisk used by Jains

Circular Fan, ' Like the Moon ' .

Fan of Hsi Wang Mu (Japanese Painting
British Museum) ....

Fan of Ming Dynasty (Painting, British

Museum) ....
White Plumed Fan of Hsi Wang Mu
Two Pear-shaped Screens
Initial — Japanese
Feather-fan, Japanese Painting
Hand-screen, „ „

Fly-whisk, Upper Nile

PAGE

'4
'4
15
16

17
'9

32
33
37
38
38
39
40

41
41
41
42

44
45
46

47
48

49
60
61
61

PAGE

Plaited Fans, South Pacific Islands

Plaited Fans, Hawaiian

Various Fans, Samoa ....

„ British Guiana

„ Ecuador and Peru .

„ South-Eastern Pacific

Flag-fan, West Africa ....

Fly-whisk, Andaman Islands

«5

Tahiti

„ Matabele ....

„ East African

Angel with Flabellum ....

Processional Flabellum

Coptic Flabellum ....

Flabellum, from Greek Psalter

„ from Goar ....

,, Monza ....

Flag-fan, from Vatican (a glass vase) .

Banner-fan, from ivory diptich

Ghost-fan, Malay Archipelago

106

Fan of Ferrara, or Duck's-foot,

107

Fragments of Fan from Chateau de Pierre

109

Small Rigid Fans, 1590

109

Feather-fan, Milan ....

Diagram of parts of Folding-fan .

116

Rigid Screen of Bologna, 1590 .

'27

Fan of Rice-straw, Fifteenth Century .

'38

Dimensions of Fans, 1550-1780 .

148

Japanese Lady's Court-fan .

'75

Long-handled Feather-fan .

.76

Ostrich-feather Folding-fan, Amsterdam

196

Flag-fan, Titian

204

Ivory Fan, Madras, Nineteenth Century

231

Plaited Fan

232

Hide-fan, from Benin . • •

271

Queen Kapiolani's Fan

272

From a Chinese Screen, Victoria and Albert

Museum ...•••

299

XIX

CHAPTER I

THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN

N the beginning, before the human advent,
when the earth was peopled only by the
Immortals, a bright son was born to Aurora,
whose soft and agreeable breath was as honey
in the mouth of the gods, and the beating
of whose gossamer wings imparted a delicious
coolness to the air, moderating the heat of
summer, and providing the first suggestion
of, and occasion for, the dainty little plaything we have under considera-
tion, somewhat waggishly described as a kind of wind instrument, not,
perhaps, so much to be played upon as to be played with, and invaluable
as assisting to follow out the wisest of the Sage's maxims when he bids
us keep cool.

This delicate toy, this airy creation of gauze, ivory, and paint, frail and
fragile almost as the flowers kissed by Aurora's son, endowed apparently
with the gift of perpetual youth, may claim a lineage older than the
Pyramids ; having its origin and being in the infancy of the world, before
the birth of history, in that golden age when life was a perpetual summer,
and care was not, when all was concord and harmony, and old age, long
protracted, was dissolved in a serene slumber, and wafted to the mansions
of the gods, the regions of eternal love and enjoyment.

It was in these halcyon days that the human family sat in its palm
groves, which afforded not only refreshing shade, during the hours
when the sun is at its height, but also provided the precursor of this

A I

HISTORY OF THE FAN

' Servant of Zephyrus ' — serving further to temper those beams which are
the source of all life, and light, and music, for are not all the learned agreed
with the late Mr. George Augustus Sala, that if a thorn was the first needle,
doubtless a palm leaf was the first fan ?

' Beneath this shade the weary peasant lies,
Plucks the broad leaf, and bids the breezes rise.' '

The poets, however, who lay claim rather to inspiration than to the dry
bones of mere learning, supply us with many fanciful suggestions as to the
fan's origin — a Spanish story (duly told on a printed fan) has it that the
first fan was a wing which Cupid tore from the back of Zephyrus for the
purpose of fanning Psyche as she lay a-sleeping on her bed of roses.

A quaint, though somewhat inconsequent, conceit is that of the French
eighteenth-century poet, Augustin de Piis, quoted by M. Uzanne in his
work on the fan, in which Cupid, at an inopportune moment, surprises the
Graces, who were as much embarrassed as the god was delighted — to hide
their confusion, with the hand that was unemployed, they endeavoured to
cover up both eyes by spreading the fingers.

' And soon Dan Cupid was aware

That though they veiled their eyes, between
The fingers of that Trio fair

Himself was very clearly seen ;
On which his little curly head

Deeply to meditate began,
Till from their fair hands thus outspread

He took his first hint for the Fan.'

Whether we accept this explanation or not, and whatever circumstances
attended the origin of the fan, it is abundantly clear that Cupid had a hand
in it. Has not Gay told how the master Cupid traced out the lines,
conceived the shape, converted his arrows into sticks, and from their

1 Gay, The Fan.
2

-I

■i

&
*

THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN

barbed points, softened by love's flame, forged the pin ? Is not the fan one
of the chief weapons in the armoury of the Love-God ? Is it not the
rampart from behind which the fiercest fire of love's artillery is directed ?
Nay, is it not in very truth the sceptre of the Love-God ? Did not the
Greeks early recognise this fact by placing the plumed fan in the hands
of Eros himself? The fan is at once the creation of Amor and the chief
ensign of his sovereignty !

And its uses?

Madame la Baronne de Chapt, in the first volume of her CEuvres
Philosophiqnes, discovers a hundred such: — 'It is so charming, so con-
venient, so suited to give countenance to a young girl, and to extricate her
from embarrassment, that it cannot be too much exalted ; we see it straying
over cheeks, bosoms, hands, with an elegance which everywhere provokes
admiration.

' Love uses a fan as an infant does a toy — makes it assume all sorts of
shapes ; breaks it even, lets it fall a thousand times to the ground. . . .

' Is it a matter of indifference, this fallen fan ? Such a fall is the result
of reflection, of careful calculation, intended as a test of the ardour and
celerity of aspiring suitors. — And the successful suitor, the favoured swain ?
Is it not he who discovers the greatest celerity in returning the fan to its
charming owner, and, in doing so, imprints a secret but chaste kiss upon
the fair hand that takes it, and is rewarded by a look ten thousand times
more eloquent than speech ? '

And if, peradventure, by the spell of some magician, this little
instrument could itself be endowed with speech ! Aha ! ma chere madame,
what tales could it not unfold from the recesses of its fluted leaves, what
whispers ! what confidences ! what assignations ! what intrigues !

' Pour une Espagnole,' writes Charles Blanc, ' toutes les intrigues de
l'amour, tous les manoeuvres de la galanterie, sont cachees dans les plis de
son even tail. Les audaces furtifs du regard, les aventures de la parole, les

HISTORY OF THE FAN

aveux risquds, les demi-mots profess du bout des levres, tout cela est
dissimule" par 1'eVentail, qui a l'air d'interdire ce qu'il permet de faire, et
d'intercepter ce qu'il envoie.'

Disraeli (Contarini Fleming), in similar strain, with no less eloquence,
says : ' A Spanish lady with her fan might shame the tactics of a troop of
horse. Now she unfolds it with the slow pomp and conscious elegance
of the bird of Juno ; now she flutters it with all the languor of a listless
beauty, now with all the liveliness of a vivacious one. Now in the midst
of a very tornado she closes it with a whirr, which makes you start.
Magical instrument ! in this land it speaks a particular language, and
gallantry requires no other mode to express its most subtle conceits, or
its most unreasonable demands, than this delicate machine.'

/Women,' says the witty Spectator, 'are armed with Fans as men with
Swords — and sometimes do more execution with them. . . . There is an
infinite variety of motions to be made use of in the flutter of a Fan.
There is the angry Flutter, the modest Flutter, the timorous Flutter, the
confused Flutter, the merry Flutter, and the amorous Flutter. Not to be
tedious, there is scarce any emotion in the mind which does not produce a
suitable agitation in the Fan ; insomuch that if I only see the Fan of a
disciplined Lady I know very well whether she laughs, frowns, or blushes.
I have seen a Fan so very angry, that it would have been dangerous for
the absent lover who provoked it to have come within the wind of it :
and at other times so very languishing, that I have been glad for the
Lady's sake the lover was at a sufficient distance from it. I need not add
that a Fan is either a Prude or Coquette according to the nature of the
person who bears it.'

Mr. George Meredith, too, would appear to have studied its motions :
' Lady Denewdney's fan took to beating time meditatively. Two or three
times she kept it elevated, and in vain : the flow of their interchanging
speech was uninterrupted. At last my father bowed to her from a distance.

THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN

She signalled: his eyelids pleaded short sight, awakening to the apprehen-
sion of a pleasant fact ; the fan tapped, and he halted his march, leaning
scarce perceptibly in her direction. The fan showed distress! 1

In one of the sprightliest of Steele's letters to the Tatler, the beauteous
Delamira, upon the eve of her marriage, resigns her fan, having no further
occasion for it. She is entreated by the matchless Virgulta, who had begun
to despair of ever entering the matrimonial state, to confide to her the
secret of her success. ' That swimming air of your body,' says she ; ' that
jaunty bearing of your Head over your shoulder ; and that inexpressible
Beauty in your manner of playing your Fan, must be lower'd into a more
confined Behaviour ; to show, That you would rather shun than receive
Addresses for the future. Therefore, dear Delamira, give me these
excellencies you leave off, and acquaint me with your Manner of
Charming.' . . .

Delamira explained that all she had above the rest of her Sex and
contemporary Beauties was wholly owing to a Fan (left to her by her
Mother, and had been long in the Family), which, whoever had in
Possession, and used with Skill, should command the hearts of all her
Beholders ; ' and since,' said she, smiling, ' I have no more to do with
extending my Conquests or Triumphs, I '11 make you a present of this
inestimable Rarity.' ' You see, Madam,' continued she, upon Virgulta's in-
quiry as to the Management of that utensil, ' Cupid is the principal Figure
painted on it ; and the skill in playing this Fan is, in your several Motions
of it to let him appear as little as possible : for honourable Lovers fly all
Endeavours to ensnare 'em ; and your Cupid must hide his Bow and
Arrow, or he'll never be sure of his Game. You may observe that in all
publick Assemblies, the sexes seem to separate themselves, and draw up to
attack each other with Eye-shot ; That is the time when the Fan, which
is all the Armour of Woman, is of most use in her Defence ; for our

1 Adventures of Harry Richmond (the italics are ours).

HISTORY OF THE FAN

minds are constructed by the waving of that little Instrument, and our
thoughts appear in Composure or Agitation according to the Motion of it.
You may observe when Will Peregrine comes into the side Box, Miss
Gatty flutters her Fan as a Fly does its Wings round a Candle ; while
her elder Sister, who is as much in Love with him as she is, is as grave
as a Vestal at his Entrance, and the consequence is accordingly. He
watches half the Play for a Glance from her Sister, while Gatty is overlooked
and neglected. I wish you heartily as much Success in the Management
of it as I have had ; . . . Take it, good Girl, and use it without Mercy ;
for the Reign of Beauty never lasted full Three Years, but it ended
in Marriage, or Condemnation to Virginity.' '

If the fan is efficacious as a weapon of offence in Love's sieges, it is
no less effective as a shield against Love's darts. On a painted Spanish
fan in the Schreiber Collection in the British Museum are represented
three fair nymphs in a wooded landscape, one of whom is receiving on
her fan an arrow discharged by the Love-God, who is accompanied by
my lady Venus in her car. On a scroll is the inscription, ' l'utilite" des
eventails,' ' la utilidad de los abanicos.'

This use of the fan as shield is adopted also by the shinldting, or
monastic novitiate of Burma, who employs his large palm-fan, both
as a shelter from the fierceness of the sun's rays, and as a screen from
the sight of womankind, moving, in the latter instance, his fan from right
to left as occasion requires, i.e. whenever a woman happens to pass.

A story, the source of which is not given,2 is told of Goldoni, who,
being one evening the guest of a Venetian lady, was complimented by
her upon the productions of his genius.

' Why, my lady,' he replied, ' anything provides a subject for a comedy.'

1 Taller, No. 52, Aug. 9, 1709.

2 Goldoni in his Mimoires gives an account of ' The Fan.' It was written and first brought out in
Paris, and soon became universally popular, especially in Venice. — Helen Zimmern, Masterpieces of Foreign
Authors.

1
I

THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN

'Anything?' replied the lady.

' Anything,' emphatically replied the dramatist.

' Even this fan ? ' insisted the Beauty.

' I shall be indebted to you for life,' exclaimed Goldoni, struck with
a happy thought. ' You have suggested to me my best comedy ; in a
week you will read it.' 1

Many and manifold are the uses of the fan. What device, for example,
could better display the beauty of a rounded arm, or the ivory whiteness of
taper fingers? Such an instrument provides graceful and often much-
needed employment to those same delicate fingers ; it supplies that
necessary sense of completeness to the tout ensemble of the picture.
And the comedy actress, desiring some trifle to emphasise a movement,
to give point and expression to some particular action — what more effective
instrument than a fan, the use of which, on the stage, has almost been
elevated into a fine art !

' Pray, ladies, copy Abington ;
Observe the breeding in her air :
There 's nothing of the actress there !
Assume her fashion if you can
And catch the graces of her fan.'

This at once recalls the saying of Northcote, who, although reluctantly
compelled to admit Queen Charlotte's excessive plainness, an elegant and
not a vulgar plainness — she had a beautifully shaped arm, and was fond of
exhibiting it — exclaimed, ' She had a fan in her hand. Lord ! how she
held that fan ! 2

Madame D'Arblay, in one of her most delightful letters, records a
conversation between herself and Mr. Fairly (Col. Stephen Digby), who,
upon the occasion of a visit to her, ' finding she entered into nothing,'

1 M. A. Flory, A Book about Fans.

2 Letter of Mrs. Scott, 1761, to her sister-in-law, Mrs. Robinson. — Dr. Doran, A Lady of the Last
Century (Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu).

HISTORY OF THE FAN

took up a fan which lay on the table and began playing off various
imitative airs with it, exclaiming, ' How thoroughly useless a toy!'

' " No," I said, "on the contrary, taken as an ornament, it was the most
useful of any belonging to full dress ; occupying the hands, giving the eyes
something to look at, and taking away stiffness and formality from the
figure and deportment."

'"Men have no fans," cried he, "and how do they do?"

' " Worse," quoth I plumply.

' " But the real use of the fan," cried he, " if there is any, is it not — to
hide a particular blush that ought not to appear?"

' " Oh no, it would rather make it the sooner noticed."

' " Not at all ; it may be done under pretence of absence — rubbing the
cheek, or nose — putting it up accidentally to the eye — in a thousand
ways." '

The uses of the Fan ? They are legion ! — They record for us public
events, military, political, civil ; they tell us our fortunes ; instruct us in
Botany, in Heraldry, in tricks with cards ; they propound conundrums ;
take us to the theatre, to bull-fights, to church, to the first balloon ascent ;
and to Mr. Thomas Osborne's Duck-hunting !

In Shakespeare's day no lady thought of stirring abroad without this
accompaniment, the care of the toy devolving upon the gentleman usher —

' Peter, take my fan and go before.'

Romeo and Juliet.

From the Aubrey MS., 1678, we learn that 'the gentlemen (temp.
Henry vm.) had prodigious fans, as is to be seen in old pictures,1
like that instrument which is used to drive feathers, and in it a handle
at least half a yard long ; with these the daughters were oftentimes

1 In an engraving of an English Noblewoman by Gaspar Rutz, 1581, a long-handled feather-
fan appears.

$
4

THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN

corrected (Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief-Justice, rode the circuit with
such a fan; Sir William Dugdale told me he was an eye-witness of
it;1 the Earl of Manchester also used such a fan); but fathers and
mothers slasht their daughters in the time of their besom discipline when
they were perfect women.' 2

Hotspur's exclamation, i Henry IV., II. iii., further serves to show
that this instrument could, upon occasion, be used as an offensive weapon :
'Zounds! an I were now by this rascal, I could brain him with his lady's fan.'
The strength hidden in such an apparently harmless toy is thus
recognised equally by both sterner and gentler sex : the hint contained in
the quaint and charming conceit addressed to the fan of his mistress by
Louis de Boissy, author of Le Babillard, will not be lost upon lovers :
' Deviens le protecteur de ma vive tendresse,
Bel eventail ! je te remets mes droits ;
Et si quelque rival avait la hardiesse
D'approcher de trop pres du sein de ma maitresse,
Bel eventail : donne-lui sur les doigts ! '

1 The fan here referred to was chiefly used inside the Courts as punkah, to create a little circulation
of the air, and to dissipate the horrible odours for which these places were notorious.

2 This assertion that the handles of fans were occasionally employed in the castigation of refractory
children is borne out by the droll story of Sir Thomas More punishing his daughters with a fan of peacock's
feathers for the offence of running him into debt with the milliner.

CHAPTER II

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS
EGYPT

THE word fan, or van, is derived

from the Latin vannus, the Roman

instrument for winnowing grain.

This winnowing -fan, held sacred

by all the peoples of the ancient

world, together with the fire-fan

(bellows), also a sacred instrument,

and used by the priestesses of Isis to fan the flame of their altars —

these must be accounted amongst the earliest of the ancient and prolific

fan-family. To the first named are several references in Holy Writ.

Isaiah, xxx. 24, speaks of the oxen and young asses that shall eat clean

provender which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan.

Jeremiah, xv. 6-7, lamenting the backsliding of Jerusalem, exclaims, ' I

am weary with repenting ; and I will fan them with a fan in the

gates of the land ' ; and again in li. 2, ' Send unto Babylon fanners

that shall fan her, and shall empty her land.'

In Matt. iii. 12, and Luke iii. 17, John the Baptist, announcing

the coming of ' one mightier than I ' — ' He shall baptize you with the

Holy Ghost and with fire : whose fan is in his hand, and he will

throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner.'

Both these instruments appear on a bas-relief from a tomb at

Sakkarah, of the twelfth Pharaonic dynasty, circa B.C. 2366-2266, sixteen

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

hundred years before Isaiah wrote. In this some shepherds are roasting
trussed and spitted ducks over fires which are being kept alive by the
plaited, wedge-shaped hand-fan ; the winnowing-fan appearing in the
same picture.

Servius, in commenting on Virgil's mystical fan of Bacchus,
(' mystica vannus Iacchi,' Georg. i. 166) affirms that the sacred rites
of Bacchus pertained to the purification of souls ; in Assyria, also, it
was introduced in the ceremonies connected with the worship of Bacchus
and became a sacred emblem.1 This instrument, carried at the Dionysia
or festivals in honour of Bacchus, was called Lichnon {^xvov), and
was so essential to the solemnities of this god, that they could not be
duly celebrated without it. So also Osiris, when judge of Amenti, holds
in his crossed hands the crook and flagellum, the mystical vannus —
'whose fan is in his hand,'2 each of these instances having reference to
the generative principle, and the improvement of the world by tillage.

The passage in Jeremiah xiii. 24, ' Therefore will I scatter them as the
stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness,' suggested the
proud motto of the Kentish family of Septvans (Setvans):

' Dissipabo inimicos Regis mei ut paleam.'

' The enemies of my king will I disperse like chaff.' 3

On the brass of Sir Robert de Septvans, 1306, Chartham, Kent, the

knight's shield and aillettes upon the shoulders are charged with the

winnowing-fans from which he takes his name, and small fans are

embroidered upon his surcoat. In the Lansdowne MSS. 855 B.M., the
arms are thus given : ' Sir robt de sevens dazur e iij vans dor.'

1 Layard, Nineveh. J Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians.

8 Thus Agamemnon in Troilus and Cressida, Act I. Scene iii. :

' in the wind and tempest of her frown,
Distinction, with a broad and powerful fan,
Puffing at all, winnows the light away;
And what hath mass, or matter, by itself
Lies, rich in virtue, and unmingled.'
I I

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The Greeks named pwi? the large flat instrument which was used
to fan the fire : the diminutive piniSiov was applied to objects of similar
form in ordinary use amongst both sexes for the purpose of fanning as
well as to drive away the flies. Indeed the use of the fan as bellows

appears to have been practically universal, and
to have dated from a very early period of the
world's history.

The employment of these instruments, as
well as the forms which they assumed, is con-
tinued even to the present day : l in the Republic
of Colombia, where fans are employed as much by men as by women,
the kitchen of every hut and house throughout the country is provided
with a fan in lieu of bellows, rectangular in form, albeit broader at the
outside than at the short handle, and about 12 inches by 9 inches in
size. These are formed of the young inside leaf of the cabbage-palm, the
handle and back being the rib of the leaf, the fan portion being the
fronds of the leaf plaited.

The Portuguese fire-fans (Abano) made in
the south of Portugal, and in universal use
in that country, are round in shape, coarsely
plaited in straw or rush, and fixed in a rough
wooden handle.

These, representing the two simplest elemental
forms, are the primeval fans which have come
down to us from the remotest periods of history,
have endured through the centuries, and, like the
fans in use in India at present, identical as a
matter of fact with these in form, are as modern as they are ancient.

1 In a painting which represents a sacrifice to Isis, Ant. di Ercolano, ii. 60, a priest is seen fanning the
fire upon the altar with a triangular flabellum, such as is still used in Italy. (Smith's Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Antiquities.')

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

These two fans, the winnowing-fan and the fire-fan, minister to the
two most pressing of man's necessities — to the first of his physical
necessities, his daily bread, and to his chief mental necessity, the
attainment of the bread of life ; the fire-fan keeping alive the flame
sacred to the great goddess who is the mother of all things, mistress
of the elements, giver of the golden grain, which, when ripened, is
separated from the chaff by the winnowing-fan ; the one instrument,
therefore, being the complement and counterpart of the other.

The Egyptian plaited hand-fan, used for
fanning the fire, as well as for other domestic
purposes, was made in a precisely similar way to
the Portuguese 'Abano' above referred to, except
that instead of being a complete circle, it assumed
the form of a rather full crescent. In the painted
decoration of a tomb at Eileithyia, representing the
interior of a storeroom, a workman is cooling, by
means of one of these hand-fans, the liquid which
is contained in a number of vases or amphorae.

In a great funeral procession of a royal scribe at

Thebes, servants carry, among other offerings, similar

crescent-shaped matted fans, together with, in three

instances, the more ornamental semicircular feather

hand-fan used by ladies for the purpose of fanning

themselves, and also, with a somewhat longer handle,

waved by servitors in attendance upon great personages

of both sexes.

On an Egyptian tablet or stele of the twelfth dynasty, in the British

Museum, the lady Khu is seated with her husbands, receiving offerings

from their children ; a hand-fan of semicircular form rests against the

seat ; this evidently not of feathers, but rigid, since the construction is

HISTORY OF THE FAN

suggested in the representation, and obviously used by the lady herself
rather than by attendants.

The handles of these fans were of ivory,
of wood painted, or of sandalwood, which latter,
when warmed by the fingers, exhaled a delicious
perfume.

A few fan-handles exist in the various public
museums ; two occur in the British Museum,
together with a portion of a handle inscribed with
the name of Nebseni, inspector of the goldsmiths
of Amen, eighteenth dynasty, illustrated opposite.
A primitive fly-whisk, of the type seen on the Assyrian monuments,
appears in the Louvre, under Egypt, but undated and undescribed ;
it is formed of grassy reeds of a buff ochre colour, bent
backwards at the handle, and rudely tied with the same
substance, the length being about 2 feet 6 inches.

The standard, banner, and processional fans are usually
formed of the feathers of the larger birds, fixed in a long
wooden handle, the feathers, as well as the handle, being
painted or dyed in brilliant colours. These, as will be seen
by a reference to the examples from Rosellini, are designed
with the consummate sense of proportion distinguishing
all Egyptian work. In both the examples given, the tips
of the feathers are surmounted by a tuft of small fluffy
feathers, this being a device common to many countries, and is seen
in the North American Indian fan illustrated, page 82.

Many of these standard and processional fans, doubtless, were formed
of some material stretched upon a semicircular frame, the fan decorated in
various ways. They were in attendance on the king wherever he went ;
they were also used as standards in war, the king's chariot being

Tivo Fan Handles.

Portion, o f a. Fiwi. Handle, CnscriicJ n-itA- tAe.rw7iie- tfj/VeAse.

Rritui-M*

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

always accompanied by at least two. The fact that they were dedicated to
the service of the gods is evidenced by a stele in the museum at Boulak,
on which is represented Osiris enthroned with a flabellifer behind,
waving the long-handled fan. The radiate fans, writes Professor Flinders
Petrie, were used as sunshades, appearing in hieroglyphs as the
determination of Khaib, i.e. shadow.

In the temple of Rameses xil, B.C. 1135, a tablet represents the
departure of the Khonsu from Thebes to the land of Bakhatana.
A standard fan of ostrich feathers of the Indian murchal type is fixed in
the bow of the boat bearing the god in his ark, and a semicircular
standard fan in the stern ; both being inclined so as to meet above,
and overshadow the ark.1 In the temple of Derri in Nubia, the
sacred barque of the god Phre" is solemnly borne by twelve priests, the
king accompanying in military costume; a flabellifer waves the long-
handled fan.

1 Sir George Birdwood, Society of Arts, 1903.
*5

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Numerous representations of these long -handled, semicircular,
standard fans occur on the monuments. At Thebes (Rhamessium) is

figured a reception of the military chiefs and
foreign envoys by Rameses in. Two servitors
behind the king carry these fans, and two fan-
bearers wave the ostrich-feather emblem.

At Medinet Abu, the same king is seated in
his chariot with three servitors waving the long-
handled, semicircular fans.

The tall, single ostrich plume was probably in
the first instance a fly-whisk. It was the principal
ensign of the office of fan-bearer, which was one
of great distinction, and one of the highest in the
gift of the monarch, none but royal princes or
scions of the first nobility being permitted to hold
it. The ceremony of investiture took place in the
presence of the king seated upon his throne, and
was usually performed after a victory, and granted
for some distinguished service in the field. Two
priests invest the holder with the robe, chain, and
other insignia of his office, the fortunate recipient
of the honour raising aloft the flabellum and
crook, thus expressing his fidelity to his king and master. This was
the usual formula of investiture of high office; its resemblance to the
biblical account of Joseph's advancement will at once be apparent.

'And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's
hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his
neck.'

Upon the field of battle the fan-bearers either attended the monarch
on foot or took command of a division with the rank of general. During

CEREMONIAL FANS
(From Rosellirti.)

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

the heat of battle, whether mounted in cars or engaged on foot, they

either carried the emblem of their office in their hand, or slung it behind

them. Their privileges were many, amongst them being the right of

presenting prisoners to the king after a victory. The office was divided

into two grades — those who served upon the right and left of the

king respectively, the most honourable post being always conferred upon

those of the highest rank, or for

the most distinguished services.

A certain number were always on

duty, and were required to carry

the monarch in the palanquin or

chair of state, and to attend

during the grand solemnities of

the temple and upon all occasions

of high state ceremonial.

The monuments bear elo-
quent testimony to the importance
and significance of this object.
At Thebes (palace of Medinet
Abu), Rameses Mdiamoun appears
in a magnificent palanquin, sur-
rounded by no less than twenty
bearers of the fan emblem, amongst
whom are the sons of the king.

In the same palace the ten sons of Rameses appear in the order of
their precedence, bearing the emblem ; the hieroglyphics, by their side,
indicating their name and functions.

On an occasion when the king (Rameses iv.) receives the homage of
the chiefs of the army, two servitors with the long semicircular fans, and

two bearers of the fan emblem, are in attendance.
c 17

INVESTITURE OF THE OFFICE OF FAN-BEARER
(From Wilkinson.)

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The highest significance of the fan emblem is when it is grasped by
the talons of the sacred vulture, guardian and protectress of the monarchs.
This figure occurs repeatedly on the monuments ; at Medinet Abu,
Rameses - M&amoun is seen subduing an army of Asiatics, the vulture
waving the fan emblem over the head of the king.

In the temple of Beit Oually in Nubia, Rameses n., helmeted, is
striding over a fallen barbarian ; the vulture of protection hovers around the
head of the hero. On the same monument Rameses seizes by the hair a
barbarian with broken bow, the vulture again in attendance. Upon the
completion of the victory, four fan-bearers, each with crook and fiabellum,
offer the spoils of conquest to the king.

On a bas-relief at Thebes, Seti i. is seen in his war-chariot sub-
duing the barbarians, also accompanied by the vulture.

At Philae, Ptolemy Philometor appears with a group of vanquished
Asiatics, the vulture once more in attendance.

In the papyrus of Hunefer (Book of the Dead) a winged Utchat, with
Eye of Horus, waves the fan emblem over the head of Osiris.

In the papyrus of Anhai, over the Standard of the West, which
crowns the Solar Mount and supports the hawk Ra-Harmachis, two
winged Hori appear as the protecting principle.

This symbol of the vulture forms a motif for surface decoration
on the ceiling of the hypostyle hall of the Rhamessium. Above the great
bell capital, the vulture, grasping in each talon a fan emblem, is treated
as a repeated ornamental pattern ; it also appears as decoration of the
umbrella or canopy of the chariot of Rameses in. (Sesostris).

We are thus enabled to realise the great part played by the fan

alike in the military, civil, and religious life of Egypt. As an instrument

in the hands of private persons, or even of slaves in attendance on

individuals, it is less in evidence on the monuments, although we may

naturally assume that in a climate such as Egypt this instrument would

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

be in constant requisition. We strain the eye of imagination to the very
earliest period of the history of this mystic land, and see in fancy the
Queen of Menes the Thinite, surrounded by slaves only a little less fair
than herself, waving the fan of square form actually appearing on a
cylinder in the Louvre ; we see, also in fancy, the famed and beautiful
Queen Nit6cris, the handsomest woman of her time, builder of the third
Pyramid, reclining upon her couch, the air being rendered less oppressive
by the waving of the soft feather fan with which the monuments have
made us familiar. Lastly, have we not Shakespeare's glowing picture of
the fanning of the voluptuous 'serpent of old Nile,' Cleopatra?

' For her owne person,
It begger'd all description : she did lye
In her Pavillion, Cloth of Gold, of tissue,
O'er-picturing that Venus, where we see
The fancie out-worke nature ; on each side her
Stood pretty- Dimpled boyes, like smiling Cupids,
With divers-colour'd fannes whose winde did seem
To glowe the delicate cheekes which they did coole,
And what they undid, did.'

UMBRELLA OR CANOPY OF THE CHARIOT OF RAMESES 111.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS— Continued

ASSYRIA

THE employment of the fan in the religious ceremonies
of Assyria has already been hinted at. There can be
no possibility of doubt that the ceremonies and customs,
both sacred and secular, connected with the fan, were
common to all the countries of the East, these being
the offspring of similar conditions and necessities.
Thus we have in Assyrian sculpture frequent representa-
tions of the fly-whisk. On a bas-relief from Nimroud
King Sennacherib is standing in his chariot superintend-
ing the moving of a colossal figure at the building of his
palace at Kouyunjik, two attendants behind the chariot
bearing an umbrella and fly-whisk ; on another relief we
see Assur-bani-pal standing, bow and arrow in hand,
pouring out a libation over four dead lions before an altar, his umbrella-
bearer and fly-flapper being in attendance. We are also introduced to the
garden or palm-grove of Assur-bani-pal's palace, wherein the king is being
entertained by his queen at a banquet ; the queen holding in her left hand
what is evidently a small fan and of the shape and general appearance of the
pleated fan, but probably rigid.

The royal fan-bearers were two in number, invariably eunuchs, their
usual place being behind the monarch. The long-tasselled scarf appears to
be the badge of the office, which was one of great dignity. Its holder was
privileged to leave his station behind the throne and hand his master the

sacred cup, the royal scent-bottle, or handkerchief, which latter article

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

invariably appears in the left hand. The usage of this office seems to have

been very similar to that of Egypt ; in the absence of the vizier, or in

subordination to him, he introduced captives to

the king, reading out their names from a scroll

or tablet in his left hand.1

The matter of the 'handkerchief opens up

an important question. Sir George Birdwood, in

a masterly address before the Society of Arts on

the subject of ancient fans, says : ' On a " marble"

in the British Museum, from Kouyunjik (near

Mossul, i.e. Nineveh), representing Sennacherib,

B.C. 681-705, enthroned before Lachish, two attend-
ants stand behind the throne, each waving in

his right hand, over the monarch's head, a murchal

(fly-whisk) of undoubted peacocks' feathers, and

each bearing in his left hand what I identify

as the cover of the murchal. It is absurd to
take it to be a pocket-handkerchief.'

On the other hand, Mr. S. W. Bushell,
in his Handbook of Chinese Art, refers to the
fan- and towel-bearers in the Chinese sculptures
of the Han dynasty ; these, although somewhat
differing in shape from those of the Assyrian
reliefs, evidently served a similar purpose.

It is an extremely difficult point to de-
termine ; in the reliefs of Assur-bani-pal at
Susiana, of Sennacherib at Kouyunjik, and
others, two flabelliferas walk behind the king's

chariot bearing in their right hands the fly-whisks, their left hands not

1 George Rawlinson, Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient World.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

being seen. Standing in the umbrella-covered chariot, immediately
behind the king and charioteer, a figure bears a smaller handkerchief or
cover in his right hand, but no evidence of a fly-whisk. The left hand
in this instance also does not appear in the relief. In a representation
of Assur-bani-pal in the Louvre (Layard, Monuments, Series n. Plate 51),
the king holds in his right hand a small fan ; an attendant behind holds
the cover or handkerchief in his right hand, but no fly-whisk. These
objects are in most instances fringed, and in some cases embroidered
with a narrow border.

Assyrian fly-whisks were usually of feathers, set in a short handle of
ivory, wood, or other material, carved or otherwise ornamented. There were
two kinds, a smaller one which was a kind of brush, made of horse-hair or
vegetable fibre, and a larger one of feathers ; the short brush fan belongs to
the earlier period, the long feathered form to the later.1

The two forms, however, appear at the same time. In the bas-relief of
the banquet above referred to, attendants bear dishes of fruits and meats,
each being provided with the small fly-whisk, evidently for the purpose of
driving away insects from the royal dishes.

The ceremonies and usages connected with the fly-whisk open up a
vast field of inquiry, far too involved to be adequately dealt with here ; some
few aspects may, however, be touched upon.

Baal-zebub, Beel-zebub, Beel-zebut, Bel-zebub, the Philistine god of
Ekron, whom the Jews represented as Prince of Devils, was literally Lord
Fly, or Lord of the Flies. When Ahaziah was sick he sent to consult the
Lord Fly's oracle.2

The word Baal simply means owner, master, or lord. In Phoenicia and
Carthage it was the custom of kings and great men to unite their names with
that of their god, as Hannibal, ' grace of Baal,' Hasdrubal, ' help of Baal.'
Amongst the Jews also many names of cities were compounded with Baal ;

1 Rawlinson. - 2 Kings i. i, 3, 6, 16.

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

as Baal-Gad, Baal-Hammon, Baal-Thamar. In the ' authorised version ' the
name is Baal-zebub, afterwards changed to Beel-zebub ; the original con-
ception is, however, one of great difficulty and obscurity, unless, indeed, we
may directly connect the worship of Baal with that of the sun. Josephus
declares that the Assyrians erected the first statue of Mars, and worshipped
him as a God, calling him Baal. We read in the book of Kings how
Josiah destroyed the altars which had been reared by Manasseh, and ' put
down the idolatrous priests, . . . them also that burned incense unto Baal,
to the sun and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of
heaven'; these instances suggesting that Baal and the sun were two separate
deities. On the other hand, Baal-Hammon is represented on a Cartha-
ginian monument with a crown of rays. Baalbek was called by the Greeks
Heliopolis (sun-city) and at Baal-Shemeh (house of the sun) there was a
temple to Baal.

If, therefore, we may regard Baal and the sun as synonymous, the
matter is at once simplified, since the sun is the bringer of flies, and is in
actual fact Lord of the Flies.

According to Pliny, the Cyrenians offered sacrifices to the fly-catching
god Achor, because the flies bred pestilence, and this author remarks that no
sooner is the sacrifice offered, than the flies perish.

The Greeks had their Jupiter Myiodes, or fly-hunter, to whom a bull
was sacrificed in order to propitiate him in driving away the flies which
infested the Olympic Games. There was also a Hercules Myiodes, the
origin of whose worship Pausanias declares to have been the following : —
Hercules, being molested by swarms of flies while he was about to offer
sacrifice to Olympian Jupiter in the temple, offered a victim to that god
under the name of Myagron, upon which all the flies flew away beyond the
river Alpheus. Pausanias further refers to the festival of Athena at
Aliphera in Arcadia, which was opened with a sacrifice and prayer to the Fly-
catcher, and states that after the sacrifice, the flies gave no further trouble.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

^Elian {Nat. An., xi. 8) affirms that at the festival of Apollo in the
island of Leucas, an ox was sacrificed ; the flies, glutted with the blood, gave
no further trouble. The same author states that the flies of Pisa (Olympia)
were more virtuous, because they did their duty, not for a consideration, but
out of pure regard for the god.1

Scaliger derives the name of Beel-zebub, the false god, from Baalim-
Zebabim, which signifies lord of sacrifices. This deity was worshipped
during the time of our Saviour, who is accused by the Pharisees of casting
out devils by Beel-zebub, the prince of the devils. So Holman Hunt, in his
picture of the finding of the Saviour in the Temple, with fine perception,
places a fly-whisk in the hand of a child.2 A child is here propounding to
his elders a purer and loftier system of ethics than had heretofore been
dreamed of; a child, likewise, banishes the servants of Belial.

With the Jewish writers of the Middle Ages the worship of Baal
frequently signified the practising of the rites of the Christian religion ;
thus Rabbi Joseph Ben Meir in his Chronicles states that Clovis forsook
his God and worshipped Baal, and that a high place was built at Paris for
Baal Dionysius, i.e. the Cathedral of St. Denis.3

The Assyrians employed the tall standard and sceptral fans in a
precisely similar way to the Egyptians. In the restoration of the palace
of Sargon (Khorsabad), compiled by Felix Thomas, given by Perrot and
Chipiez, History of Art in Chaldcea and Assyria, vol. ii. p. 24, two
enormous frond standards are placed at the entrance to the Harem
Court, these being circular, formed of palm fronds in bronze gilt. ' In
India, as in Japan,' to quote again Sir George Birdwood, 'the standard
is often blazoned with some totemistic, symbolical, or heraldic device, and
it was probably so blazoned in Assyria, for from Assyria the practice

1 Pausanias, Frazer, vol. iii. 558.

2 ' The fly-whisk in the picture is introduced because flies were held to be creatures of Beel-zebub, the
god of flies, and therefore to be driven away.' (Letter of Mr. W. Holman Hunt to the author.)

3 National Encyclopaedia.

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

spread to Greece and Rome of using such devices on both standards
and shields. Later this ritual was revived by the Saracens, and was
spread over mediaeval Europe by the Crusaders returning from the
Holy Land.'

The Assyrian disc-standards were probably of brass or other metal,
fixed to the inside of the chariot. Two devices appear on the monu-
ments— the Divine Archer standing on a bull, and two bulls running in
opposite directions. These were enclosed in a circle at the end of a long
staff ornamented with streamers and tassels.1

The Assyrians employed the primitive plaited fan, used in Egypt,
both crescent-shaped, square, and triangular. On a relief from Nimroud,
in the British Museum, in a circular arrangement divided into four
compartments, representing the interior of a castle with towers and
battlements, a eunuch is waving in his right hand, over a stand on which
are vases and bowls, a square, flag-shaped fan, certainly of the plaited
variety ; in the left hand is what appears to be a fly-whisk.

On a silver dish in the Strogonoff collection illustrated in Orientalische
Teppiche, Alois Riegl, a Sassanian monarch is seated, cross-legged, holding
a tazza, and attended by two servitors, one of whom waves a plaited flag-
fan of oblong shape. The dish, which bears strong traces of Indian
influence, is probably of the period of Varannes n., a.d. 273-277.

The swinging-fan, suspended from the ceiling, and operated by
pulling a cord, is an ancient device for cooling the air of rooms. The
testimony of an Assyrian bas-relief from Nineveh indicates its use at the
period to which these sculptures belong — seventh to tenth century B.C.
Wicquefort, in his translation of the embassy of Garcias de Figueron,
gives the name of fan to a kind of chimney or ventiduct, in use among
the Persians, to furnish air and wind into their houses, without which
the heat would be insupportable.2

1 Layard, Nineveh. " Chambers's Dictionary of Arts and Sciences.

D 25

HISTORY OF THE FAN

A variant of this device for ventilating rooms is recorded in Chinese
annals. Under the Han dynasty, B.C. 205 - a. d. 25, a skilful workman
at Chang — and named Ting Huan — made a fan of seven large wheels
10 feet in diameter, the whole turned by a single man.

The luxurious Guez de Balzac, in the twentieth letter, written from
Rome in 1621, to the Cardinal de la Villette, with his customary extrava-
gant hyperbole, describes his method of guarding against the heat during
the broiling month of July — ' Four servants constantly fan my apartments ;
they raise wind enough to make a tempestuous sea!

FROM A BAS-RELIEF. (Nimroud.)

S'S

s "

■ft

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS— Continued
GREECE AND ROME

IN Greece, as in Egypt, the fan had a sacred
as well as a secular use. M. Uzanne refers
to the fan of feathers which those discreet
and irreproachable ladies, the Vestals, made
use of to fan the flame of their sacrifices,
and, rather roguishly, seizes the idea of fan-
ning the flame to suggest that of inward
flames kindled by the arrows of the little
god Cupid, in place of the chaste ardours of
the sacred mysteries. The fans of the priests
of Isis, when Isis was a Grecian divinity, were formed of the wings of
a bird, attached to the end of a long wand, and thus made to resemble
the caduceus of Mercury.

The Greeks received the fan from Egypt and Assyria through the
Phoenicians, who were the traders between the east and the west. In the
sarcophagus of Amanthus (Cyprio - Phoenician), representing a train of
horsemen, footmen, and chariots, the horses' heads are adorned with a
pleated fan crest, similar to that which was used by the Persians ; the
figure in the first biga carries a parasol. Thus Perrot and Chipiez in
their description of this monument : ' The parasol which shades the head
of the great person in the first biga is the symbol of Asiatic royalty : the
fan-shaped plume which rises above the heads of all the chariot horses,
is an ornament that one sees in the same position in Assyria and Lycia,

when the sculptor desires to represent horses magnificently caparisoned.'

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This remarkable example is of the highest interest as showing that
the pleated form — in this instance, doubtless, rigid, and fixed to a short
handle, also seen in both Egyptian and Assyrian monuments — has been
employed from a very remote period.1

The earliest Greek fans were, doubtless, branches of the myrtle,

acacia, the triple leaves of the Oriental plantain, and also the leaves of the

lotus, which latter, together with the myrtle, were consecrated to Venus,

were symbols of the dolce far niente, and therefore peculiarly appropriate

to this instrument of reposeful ease. The myrtle bough was also used

by the Romans, as we learn from Martial, iii. 82, serving at the same

time as fan and fly-flap —

' Et aestuanti tenue ventilat frigus
Supina prasino concubina flabello ;
Fugatque muscas myrtea puer virga.'

The single leaf or heart-shaped fan occurs constantly in Greek terra-
cottas ; a number of examples are to be seen in the British and other
Museums. In the Victoria and Albert Museum is a charming little

1 See page 109.
28

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

winged Amor, draped, tripping gaily along, hiding his face behind a fan
of this shape. Blondel refers to a female figure in the Louvre, seated at
a feast, holding a leaf-fan ; also in a fresco at Pompeii a figure is seen
holding a fan which this author mistakes for that of a different shape, but
which is really a perspective view of the plantain-leaf. We see the
triform leaf- fan in the hands of a Tanagra figure in the collection
of Louis Fould, illustrated in the Gazette des Beaux- Arts for i860;
this, as well as a number of Tanagra figures, evidently representing
priestesses of Venus. It is impossible to determine with any degree of
accuracy the material and construction of these fans : in some instances
they are evidently stretched on a frame, and adorned with ornament either
painted or embroidered ; occasionally, also, the decorative motif is that
of the natural veining of the leaf; the handles being usually very short,
in many cases scarcely visible. The slight vestiges of colour remaining
on these statuettes must in no instance be taken as suggesting the
colouring of the original fans. The business of the Tanagra sculptor was
to make a statuette and not a portrait of any particular fan ; the colouring
of the fan of the statuette would therefore be determined by the general
colour scheme of which it formed a part.

The circular fan of peacocks' feathers appears as early as the fifth century
B.C., and even at this date had already been used in Asia Minor.

References to the feather-fan are of constant occurrence in the writings
of Greek authors. A slave in the Orestes of Euripides exclaims : ' After the
Phrygian fashion I chanced with the close circle of feathers to be fanning the
gale, that sported in the ringlets of Helen.'

Instances of the feather-fan are common on Greek vases, — on the

Campanian Hydra (F. 212), British Museum, the shape in this instance

being that of the reversed heart. In the fourth vase room, on an oil-flask,

with Aphrodite seated in the lap of Adonis, a figure appears holding a very

large fan, but similar in shape to the first mentioned ; and on the Apulian

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Hydra, F. 352, a fan appears which is evidently a conventional representa-
tion of the peacock feather-fan. The long-handled fan was also adopted
by the Greeks, these being waved by servants or attendants, as in Egypt.
The Etruscans, amongst whom the luxury of the fan is early seen, and
who transmitted it later to the Romans, used the peacock feathers, of

different lengths, in a semicircle :
such a fan appears on a large
vase in the Louvre.

On an Etruscan crater, re-
presenting Heracles strangling the
serpents, surrounded by the greater
gods, a fan of plain feathers is held
in the hand of one of the attend-
ants. On a sarcophagus at Vulci,
found in the winter of 1845-6, a
female figure appears waving a
large fan, /5ims, identical in shape
with fans used in India at the
present day. In the Grotta del
Sole e della Luna (tomb of the
Sun and Moon) at Vulci, discovered in 1830, one of the ceilings has a
singular fan-pattern, given in Mon. Ined. Inst., i. tav. xli., the counterpart
of which is found in two tombs at Cervetri, whence we may conclude it
was no uncommon decoration in Etruscan houses.1

In the Museo Gregorio, Rome, are half-a-dozen handles of fans, with
holes for threads or wire, to tie in feathers or leaves.

' The fashion of the fan,' says M. de Linas,2 ' was probably introduced
into Italy in the sixth century B.C. We learn from Dionysius of Halicar-
nassus, that Aristodemus, tyrant of Cumae, and ally of Porsenna, corrupted

FROM AN APULIAN HYDRA. (British Museum.)

1 Dennis, Cities ami Cemeteries of Etruria.

Revue de /'Art Chrtticn% 1883.

■3

FANS OF THE ANCIENTS

the youths of this town by making them effeminate buffoons, accompanied
by followers who carried the nabellum and umbrella.'

The fan, although perhaps in less constant use by the Romans, was
still an article of very general employment. In the Eunuchus of Terence
we are introduced to a pretty scene in which the fan plays an important part.
Chaerea is relating to Antipho his good fortune with the fair Thais :

Chaerea. While I was revolving these things in my mind, the virgin meanwhile
was called away to bathe ; she goes, bathes, and returns, after which they laid
her on a couch ; I stand waiting to see if they had any orders for me. At last,
one came up and said — ' Here, Dorus, take this fan, and, while we are bathing,
fan her thus. When we have done you may bathe too, if you have a mind.'
I take it very demurely.

Antipho. I could have then wished to see that impudent face of thine, and the
awkward figure so great a booby must make holding a fan.

Chaerea. Scarce had she done speaking, when in a moment they all hurried out
of the room, and ran to the bath in a noisy manner, as is usual when masters
are absent. Meantime, the virgin falls asleep. I steal a private glance thus,
with the corner of my eye, through the fan ; at the same time look round every-
where, to see if the coast was quite clear. . . .

The Romans employed the fly-flap {muscarium) formed of peacocks'
feathers, which was often provided with a long handle, so that the fan could
be waved by a servant (jlabellifer), who protected his mistress from the
insects during sleep.

Plautus, Trinummus, n. i., refers to these flabilliferae, but in this
instance the term is obviously applied to female fan-bearers.

Propertius, n. xxiv. u, speaks of flabella of the tail feathers of the
peacock.

The peacock fly-flap is also referred to by Martial, xiv. 67 :

' What, from thy food, repels profaning flies,
Strutted, a gorgeous train, with Gemmy eyes.'

' Lambere quae turpes prohibet tua prandia muscas,
Alitis eximiae cauda superba fuit.'
31

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The same author, in. lxxii. io-i i, says of Zoilus that when overcome by the
heat, a pleasant coolness is wafted about him with a leek-green flabellum.

The Romans also adopted the tail of the yak, but this last, which
appears to have been imported from India, was not so commonly used as
the tabellae, a species of fan of square or circular shape, formed of precious
wood or very finely cut ivory, referred to by Ovid in the third book of
his A mores. ' Wouldst thou,' he exclaims, ' have an agreeable zephyr to
refresh thy face? This tablet agitated by my hand will give you this
pleasure.' Those also were the fans the young Roman exquisites
carried when accompanying their mistresses along the Via Sacra, fanning
them gallantly, representations of which appear on vases in the Louvre.1

Propertius, also, in the fourth book of his Elegies, represents Hercules
as seated at the feet of Omphale, fan in hand.

1 In a wall-painting of a sacrifice, Rome (Vatican), given by George Buss, Der Ftichcr, a circular
fan-tablet is seen.

FROM AN ETRUSCAN VASE. (British Museum.)

I
k

CHAPTER III

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

INDIA

IT is difficult for the Western mind to realise
the degree of importance assumed by the fan,
the fly-flap, and the umbrella, in the countries
of the Far East, especially India ; these
objects being regarded with an affection
almost, indeed actually, amounting to rever-
ence. Its primal cause is to be found in
the overpowering insistence of the sun's rays,
and the sense of grateful relief afforded by
shade and disturbance of the air. To dis-
cover its origin we must look back, beyond
the age of legendary lore, to actual mythology,
when we find representations of the Puranic
snake gods of India with the sacred umbrella
over their heads, attended by Cherubim waving the fan and the fly-flap.
Similarly we find the sacred five- or seven-headed cobra itself assuming
the office of sunshade, uprearing its hood to form a canopy for Buddha
or for the Hindoo gods.

In the Mahdbh&rata, the ancient epic of Hindostan, we have a
description of the death of the monarch Pandou, in which great crowds
assemble at the bier to do homage to the dead, bringing offerings of
e 33

HISTORY OF THE FAN

fly-flaps and white umbrellas, the latter having each a hundred ribs of
pure gold, the donors thereby ensuring for themselves a place in
Paradise.

In the same epic, the poet represents the sacred Kama, in the midst
of the acclamations of victory, seated majestically upon his throne,
beneath the emblems of the umbrella, the fan, and the fly-flap; these
being regarded as the most solemn symbols of state throughout the
East.

Thus, the title of the King of Burmah is ' Lord of the twenty-four
umbrellas,' this being the number always borne before the Emperor of
China upon every state occasion, and accompanying him even to the
hunting-field.1

The connection between this umbrella-reverence and primitive tree-
worship is abundantly established, both having their origin in climatic
conditions. On the Sanchi Tope is figured the sacred flowering Sal
tree (beneath which Gautama Buddha died at Kasia), surmounted by
two Chhatras, these, together with the tree, being adorned with garlands.
Again, on the Great Tope at Buddha Gaya, B.C. 250, erected in front of
the sacred Bo tree (Ficus religiosd), beneath which Gautama attained
to the Buddhahood, are umbrellas hung with garlands. Also in a
Thibetan picture of the death of Gautama given in Dr. Waddell's
Buddhism of Thibet, we see a garlanded and festooned umbrella in
the centre over Buddha, with attendants waving fly-flaps, and on the right
a large standard fan.

So deeply rooted, indeed, is the reverence for the umbrella, and so
completely in the minds of the populace are these objects identified with
regal power, that, upon the occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales
(King Edward vn.) to India, it was deemed necessary for his Royal

1 This also is the number lining the shed in which the King of Dahomey holds his Court, the outer
ones, white, those in the centre, marking the spot occupied by his Majesty, displaying the brightest hues.

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

Highness to appear beneath a golden umbrella on an elephant in order
that his sovereign dignity might be demonstrated.

In the manuscript of Nieder Muenster of Ratisbon, now in the
library at Munich, we find a curious blending of the tree and umbrella
form, introduced as accessories in representations of the four evangelists,
doubtless merely intended as conventional floral forms, but evidently the
work of some monkish illuminator who had become influenced by
Oriental mythology.

In Ratisbon, also, is an illumination of Christ bearing the cross, to
one arm of which is attached a half-closed umbrella, reproduced in
Curiositds Mystdrienses. ' Le pommeau,' says the chronicler, ' est orne"
de ce que les Romains nomment Ombrellino (petit dais en parasol). S'il
s'agissait a coup stir de ce baldaquin (qui est le propre de certains digni-
taires) nous pourrions rappeler que ce mot figurait deja dans l'^tiquette
imperiale avant Constantin.'1

On Attic and other Greek vases of the third and fourth century B.C.,
to quote Sir George Birdwood, it is often very difficult to distinguish the
fan from the umbrella. 'Where it is distinctly an umbrella, it is either
of the peaked Assyrian form, or of the dome- (' rondel ' of Valentijin, etc.,
and 'arundels' of Fryer) topped Indian form (chhatra); and when it is
distinctly a fan, it is usually of the Indian type, determined by the fan
palm frond and the peacock feather, and rarely of the Egyptian type
determined by the date-palm and the ostrich feather.'

In the early Persian bas-reliefs, says Chardin in his Voyages, the kings
of Persia are frequently represented in the act of mounting on horseback
surrounded by beautiful slaves ; the duty of one being that of holding an
umbrella over the head of the monarch. This, not only for the purpose of
protecting the sovereign from the rays of the sun, but also to demonstrate
his absolute right of life and death over both prisoners and subjects.

1 C. F. Gordon-Cumming, 'Pagodas, Aureoles, and Umbrellas,' English Illustrated Magazine, 1888.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Umbrellas formed an important feature in the Greek Bacchic pro-
cessions. Aristophanes refers to white umbrellas and baskets, signifying
pomp and joy, as being intended to recall to men the acts of Ceres and
Proserpine, and constantly borne by virgins at all religious ceremonials.

In a miniature in the Royal Library at Paris, of Sivaji on the march,
a sayiban or sun-fan is seen, having an arrangement of drapery in form
of a curtain or valance.1 Here we discover a point of contact between
the fan and the umbrella, although it is probable that in this instance its
use as a shade-giving instrument had not developed.

A much closer form-connection, however, between fan and umbrella
is seen in the simple leaf section of the Palmyra palm, cut level at the
top, used by the natives in most parts of India. This assumes exactly
the shape of the pleated fan, the pleating formed by Nature's deft hands.
The large Cingalese umbrella used by headsmen and at weddings is
of the same shape, made of the young leaves of the talipot palm, often
richly decorated with plaited patterns in various colours, and with mica
inlay. Of similar form, also, is the sacred processional parasol of the
Indian Mussulmans (Shia sect) and the Hindus.

The fan, therefore, must be considered as part of a continuous de-
velopment from the umbrella symbol of might and power, employed
equally in the East as in the West, and the infinitude of military and
processional fan-like standards and sceptral fans, to the hand-fan and
fly-whisk.

We discover a direct affinity between the hissing of the wind

1 In the Ayin Akbari, or Institutes of the Emperor Akbar, by Abdul Fazl, Akbar's great minister,
the following enumeration is given of the ensigns of state ' which wise monarchs consider as marks of
divine favour ' : — -

The Aurung or throne, the Chuttur or umbrella, the Sayiban or sun-fan, and the Kowkebah or stars
in gold and other metals which are hung up in front of the palace ; and these four ensigns are used
only by kings.

The Alum, the Chuttertowk, and the Tementowk, all varieties of standards of the highest dignity,
appropriated solely by the king and his military officers of the highest rank. — Birdwood, Industrial Arts
of India.

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

through the open metal mouth and silken bag of the Roman Dragon
standard, and the beating of the wings of the Norse Raven, used for a
similar purpose ; between the Assyrian disc standards with the divine archer
standing on the sacred bull, and the cruciferal discs employed at a more
recent date in Christian Church ceremonial ;
between the chauri waved over the head of
Krishna, and the wafting of divine influence
by the angelic attendants upon the Saviour
in early Christian missal-painting.

The alums or allums used in the
Moharram procession in India are analogous
to the standards used by the Greeks and
Romans, and those figured on the gates of
the Sanchi Tope, consisting not only of
flags and banners, but of all sorts of devices
in metal, raised on the top of a long staff
and carried to battle.1

The Cingalese Sesata, a ceremonial fan
for royal and religious use, or for attendance
upon great personages, consists of an em-
broidered cloth disc, or talipot leaf, decorated
with images of the sun, moon, etc., with mica
and other materials introduced, mounted on
a lacquered staff. Tenants of the first rank
attend the Disvata (lord chief) on journeys,
convey his orders, carrying the great banner,
state umbrella, and Sesata.2 A smaller
disc-fan, the disc covered with crimson velvet, the handle about fifteen
inches long, of carved ivory, richly inlaid, occurs in the Louvre.

1 Hon. Wilbraham Egerton, Handbook of Indian Arms. - Coomaraswarmy, Mediozval Sinhalese Art.

CINGALESE SESATA

(Made of the leaf of the talipot palm, enriched with
plates of mica, the handle lacquered wood;
length, including handle, 7 feet.)

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The royal standard, banner, or ensign, employed in India, composed of

peacocks' feathers, is illustrated in a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah (c. 1597),

the form being circular, and also that of a somewhat elongated semicircle.
The fly-flap, chowr, chowrie, chourie, chaurie, is next in dignity to

the umbrella, and was in the first instance devoted to the service of the
gods. On a bas-relief of the pagoda of Elephanta, described
by the Orientalist Langl^s in his History of Hindostan, a
servant is seen behind Brahma and Indra holding in each hand
chauries or fly-whisks. In the India Museum is a charming
little chaurie with silver handle and ribbons of silver gauze
tipped with red silk, used by Jains to drive away insects from
their idol without destroying them.

Chauries are formed of various materials — of ivory, the
strips of which are sometimes cut to incredible fineness for
such a substance ; in these cases the handles are formed of
the same material, richly carved — of the bushy tail of the

Himalayan yak, both black and white, the handles

either of metal, ivory, or wood — of sandalwood,

also cut into the finest possible strips, the handles

richly carved ; the waving of these chauries

emitting a fine fragrance — of the stripped quills

of the larger birds, more generally the peacock —

of horse-hair and the various grasses. The handles

were often formed of the horns of various

animals ; an example occurs in the Horniman

Museum, in which instance it is the antelope.

The chaurie from the tail of the yak was in

ancient India fixed upon a gold or ornamented

shaft between the ears of the war-horse, like the

plume of the war-horse of chivalry ; the banner or banneret, with the

FLY-WHISK

(From a painting on talc. Madras.
Nineteenth century.)

^ KZ^A

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

device of the chief, rose at the back of the car. ' The waving chaurie
on the steed's broad brow points backwards, motionless as a picture.' '

This, it will be seen, is in strict conformity to the usage of the
ancient Egyptians, who employed the tall fan emblem in a precisely
similar way ; these proud plumes serving a double purpose — an orna-
mental, and, in the case of Egypt, even an heraldic purpose, and also the
purely utilitarian one of affording the animal some relief from fly pests.

The peacock has ever been regarded as a sacred bird, both by the
peoples of the East and the West. The Greek fable of Argus the
hundred-eyed, the sleepless guardian of Io, serves to connect the idea of
extreme vigilance with that of true kingship, i.e. the universal preserver
and father of the people. The peacock therefore presented a double sig-
nificance to the minds of the Hindu peoples ; it expressed the vigilance
of kingship together with its magnificence. The peacock feather emblem
of royalty is the sign or insignia of the king's high office, and the
principal evidence of his sovereignty : wherever a king appears ^^Wfifjtoj
he is accompanied by an attendant bearing this emblem, \0^Hm
which appears in all pictorial or other representations of Wj^^

royalty. y0ftXm

It was, doubtless, in the first instance a fly-flap, and is fS[

either composed entirely of feathers, or, it consists of a bunch fc^d

of feathers enclosed two-thirds of the distance in a silver jS

casing, usually ornamented with an imbricated pattern ; the EW

handle also of silver. Several examples of this object appear l]

in the India Museum, and numberless representations occur emblem of

ROYALTY

in sculpture, illumination, embroidery, etc. (From™ illumination of

1 a Court reception by

The poet Valmiki tells of the sumptuous sceptre, studded *<^°<°^
with jewels, prepared for the sacrifices to Rama — a magnificent fan with
a radiant garland resembling the full moon in the clear night sky.

1 Hindu Theatre.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The word punkha, or pankha, from pankh, a feather, a bird, is a
generic term applied in India to all fans, pankhi meaning a small fan.
This derivation serves as an indication of the early use of the plumed fan
in India, which divides honours with the palm-leaf fan in point of
antiquity, and doubtless also as suggesting a similarity between the
beating of a bird's wings and the movement of the fan.

The earliest plumed fans probably consisted of a pair of complete
wings set shoulder to shoulder, resembling the caduceus of Mercury,
which was regarded as a symbol of happiness, peace, and concord, the
wings expressing diligence.

Feather-fans assume all manner of shapes, as the large round banner-
fans already referred to ; the familiar crescent-like form with a short

0. handle set horizontally at its base ;

and the various hand-screens, these
either composed entirely of pea-

_ %f cocks' feathers, the breast and

if"

neck feathers forming a pattern

in the centre, with a border of
tail feathers ; or, the centre formed
of plaited pith and cane of various
colours, beetles' wings, etc., with
the border again of feathers ; the
handles being of cane or wood,
or of wood covered with cane strippings or other material.

In Persia and Arabia, from the first centuries of our era, fans were
made of ostrich feathers, many being ornamented with that form of in-
scription which is such a leading feature of the decorative art of these
countries.

The crescent-shaped hand-fan also dates from a very early period.

In its primitive form, it is seen in the painted decoration of the Bud-

ROYAL STANDARDS

(From a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah.
Sixteenth century.)

L<uyc /{and Fan of 'Sandalwood, Indian.. J '8 t>KCent.

jM^Hurioe-rjird J^oOe-TL .

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

HAND-FAN
(From the cave paintings at Ajanta.)

dhist cave-temples of Ajanta (first century B.C. to eighth century A.D.),
the example given being probably ornamented with strips or panels of
mica, the constructional portion of cane or pith.

A variant of this form, still more simple in
its construction, is seen in one of the sculptured
roundels of the Buddhist tope at Amaravati,
Southern India, circa second century a.d. ; an
attendant upon a great personage waves a circular
fan, having the handle stretched across the face,

with a circular opening near the lower edge to
enable the handle to be gripped. All the fore-
going types obtain at the present day, and are
as modern as they are ancient.

The flag form of fan is, if possible, a still
more remarkable instance of the persistence of
certain decorative motifs throughout long periods
of the world's history. This type, again, is in
use at the present day — the page of
examples illustrated are of the mid-nineteenth century — this
identical form appears in the wall-paintings at Ajanta ; : it is
also seen in Egyptian and Assyrian sculptured reliefs ; it was
employed by the Copts from the third to the sixth century,
and earlier in Arabia ; it was in general use in Italy during
the period of the Renaissance. There can be no possibility
of doubt that this form of fan was common to the whole of
the East and to a greater portion of the West, and has
endured throughout the centuries.

PLAITED GRASS-FAN
(From the Amaravati Tope.)

These fans are of two kinds — rigid and flexible ; in <F'

FLAG-FAN
rom the cave paintings

::t Ajanta.)

1 In the painting supposed to represent an Iranian Embassy of Khosru II. of Persia to Pulikesi II.,
both flag-fan, long-handled pankha, and fly-flap appear.
F 41

HISTORY OF THE FAN

both instances they are invariably plaited, the material being stripped

palm, bamboo, ivory, peacock quills, etc. The rigid variety is often placed

loose in the handle, to allow of its being swung round and round like

a policeman's rattle. See illustration opposite.

The hatchet or halberd shape is a development of the flag form, and

varies from the simple blade to that of a highly ornamental shape. The

material is silk, velvet, cloth or other tissue, often richly embroidered

with gold and silver thread, spangles,

beetles' wings, etc., with a fringe

of either silver tinsel or peacocks'

feathers ; the handles being of wood,

cane, or silver. These are at present

largely made at Delhi.

Occasionally the fan is entirely

formed of threaded glass beads of

various colours forming a pattern

upon a wire framework, with a fringe

of tinsel, the handle also overlaid

with beads.

The primitive palm-fan occurs on

the oldest Hindostani bas-reliefs, and

is described by the poets. This

primeval fan still forms part of the

attire of certain Buddhist priests in

Siam, and from it they take their

name of ' Talapoins ' ; the fan's name

being ' talapat,' or 'palm-tree-leaf in

the Siamese language.

This form (the reversed heart) is common to both the smaller hand-fans

and the larger ceremonial and processional fans. The natural palm-leaf

Flaj Fans, sbLtpcUm, <H6am~6oo. f9^i!ent.

Headed Fan,, £. Paim-Lurf ran- ^utk-rrUca-ln^erti^u!,

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

is employed, trimmed to the required shape, and used either plain, or
painted in brilliant colours, or forming a base for a covering of em-
broidery, feathers or stuffs, as in the example from Moorshedabad
(illustrated), which is of velvet, embroidered with silver.

The lateral form, in which the leaf is
set sidewise on the stem, follows the same
principle of decorative development. It is
used plain, painted, inlaid with talc as in
the example illustrated, is embroidered with
silk, spangles, beetles' wings, etc. ; it also
supplies the shape or decorative motif for
fans of a different material, as in the instance
of the four long - handled fans, forming
portion of the Burmese regalia, obtained from
Mandalay in 1885, examples of a barbaric
splendour only to be found in the gorgeous
East. These are of gold, jewelled with rubies
and the ' nan-ratan ' or nine stone, the handles
overlaid with gold and also jewelled.

Amongst fans formed of the more precious
materials is a disc-shaped fan of gold, set
with cabochon sapphires, an offering dedicated
by Klrti Sri to the 'Tooth relic.'1 Figured
in Medieval Sinhalese Art, A. K. Coom-
araswarmy.

In the collection of the Baroness Salomon
de Rothschild at Paris is a fan of jade, richly
studded with jewels.

FAN OF GOLD
(Forming portion of the Burmese Regalia.
India Museum.)

1 The Tooth relic of Buddha, brought by a Brahman princess from Kalinga in A.D. 313, and since
rendered the highest honours.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Fans are also made of the sweet-scented Khaskhas root {Andropogon
muricatus), and as these are generally used after being wetted, they impart
to the air a cool fragrance ; they are often highly ornamented with gold
and silver spangles, gold thread, tinsel, beetles' wings, etc., and occasionally
provided with ivory handles. A pretty example occurs at Kew, where
there is an excellent collection of fans made of the various vegetable sub-
stances. Fans of talc, decorated with exquisite illumination, were made
at Tanjore during the eighteenth century. Specimens occur in the India
Museum, South Kensington.

PORTION OF AN EMBROIDERED MUSLIN NAPKIN. (Chamba. Nineteenth century.)

Representations of the fan are of constant occurrence in Indian
work, both illumination, embroidery, sculpture, and other material. On a
curiously primitive embroidered napkin from Chamba, we are introduced
to the worship of a Hindu deity — a king and queen are kneeling under a
palm-tree, the god Ganesh in the distance with flag-fan ; an attendant
bears the peacock feather emblem of royalty, a second attendant waves
a large heart-shaped fan. On a small mat or pad of enamelled leather
(Hyderabad, nineteenth century), we see a whimsical combination of
Krishna and his damsels forming the similitude of an elephant, the
umbrella, pankha, and two fly-flappers being in evidence.

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

A beautiful illumination from a MS. copy of the Akbar-Namah, above
quoted, shows a prince seated upon his throne in the act of receiving
offerings ; an attendant waves a fly-flap behind the throne, a second
attendant bears one of the large pankhas beautifully embroidered in gold
and colours.

We are also in another illumination introduced to a beautiful flowered
parterre, in which a Mongol princess is seated before a rippling fountain ;
attendants wait upon her with fruits, vases containing unguents, spices,
etc. ; behind, a female attendant waves the fly-flap.

In the decoration of the entrance gate of the temple at Ajmir, a
prince appears in a howdah on the back of an elephant, an attendant sits
behind waving a fly-flap, a second flabellifer is seated on the head of the
animal ; the prince himself holds a small fan in his hand, an attendant on
foot bears the pankha, and another the insignia of royalty.

Fair and delicate though these creations of Eastern ingenuity may be,
the genius of Oriental imagery and fancy has discovered for us a still
more delicate and effective instrument — a Sanskrit poet recounts a grace-
ful fable of a princess of extreme beauty, who, although constantly
attending and fanning the divine fire with a view to increasing the pros-
perity of her father, never succeeded in producing a flame save by the
breath of her charming lips.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

FANS OF THE FAR EAST— Continued

CHINA

CHINESE authorities are at variance concerning the in-
vention of the fan, which has been attributed to the
Emperor Hsien Yuan, b.c. 2697 ; to the Emperor Shun,
B.C. 2255, and to the first ruler of the Chou dynasty,

B.C. 1 122.

According to a Chinese legend, it had its origin

at the Feast of Lanterns, where, on an occasion when

the heat became particularly oppressive, the beautiful

daughter of a mandarin took off her mask, and agitated

it so as to fan the air into a gentle breeze ; the rest of

the fair revellers were so much struck with the grace of

the motion that they one and all let fall their masks

and followed the example of the mandarin's daughter.

The earliest fans were of the dyed feathers of various

birds, and those of the peacock. We have an account

of a present of two fans of feathers of ' tsio rouge,'

offered to the Emperor Tchao-wang of the Chou dynasty, b.c. 1052, by

the King of Thou-sieou, and it is affirmed in the ' Tchdou-li ' that one

of the chariots of the empress carried a feather-fan for the purpose of

keeping the wheels free from dust.

The poet Thou-fou, in the ' Song of Autumn,' refers to fans of

pheasants' feathers as in royal use. The Emperor Kao-Tsong, of the

Chang dynasty, 1323- 1266 B.C., having heard the cry of the pheasant,

an omen of good luck, resolved thenceforth to use only fans composed

of the tail feathers of this bird.

CIRCULAR FAN

'Like the Moon'

borne by the guard of an

Imperial concubine.

tf
\

1 -

■Si

j -

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

These have continued in the service of royalty to a late period.
A wing-shaped example, set laterally in a red lacquered handle, appearing
in the hand of an attendant, in a fine painted roll, by Ch' in
Ying of the Ming dynasty, illustrating the occupations of
Court ladies, the larger feathers numbering seven, this
being the sacred number composing the fan, which is the
attribute of Chung-li Ch'uan, one of the eight Taoist
Immortals, the seven broad feathers corresponding to the
constellation of seven stars on the left of the moon (Great
Bear), the seat in the Taoist heavens of their supreme deity,
Shang Ti, round whom all the other star gods circulate in
homage. This fan is illustrated on the large lacquered
screen at the Victoria and Albert
Museum, representing the Taoist Genii from a painted roll

OF MING DYNASTY

worshipping the god of Longevity, and (»*i*ii— «o
constantly figures in pictorial and other representa-
tions.

Similar fans with several rows of pointed feathers
appear in painted and decorative work ; a curious
example being seen in a large drawing from Tonkin
(Louvre). The outer row of feathers, white and pale
blue ; the second, yellow ; the third, those of the pea-
cock; the body of the fan, green, red, white, and
blue.

In the lacquered screen above referred to, a large
fan of this character is waved over the head of one of
the devotees riding aloft on a cloud, wending his
way towards the mountain paradise, the home of the
God.
The feather-fan is one of the chief attributes of Hsi Wang Mu, the

FAN.\OF HSI WANG MU

(From a Japanese painting*

British Museum.)

HISTORY OF THE FAN

famed Queen of the Genii (Royal Mother of the West), whose dwelling
was a mountain palace in Central Asia, where she held Court with her
fairy legions and received the great Taoist Rishis and certain favoured
mortals, and whose amours with the Han Emperor Wu Ti have given
much occupation for both author and artist.1

Her fan is borne by one of her four handmaidens, who, like the
D€va Kings of Mount Sumeru, are severally related to the four points
of the compass. It assumes various shapes, as that of a wing, in the

painting by a pupil of
Itcho riu of the Japanese
popular school, British
Museum, 1722; a bunch
of long pointed plumes
set in a bamboo handle,
in the painting (Chinese
School of Japan, British
Museum, 778), in which
a young girl in deer-skin,
standing beneath the
sacred peach-tree of the
Immortals, offers the fruit to the goddess who, with her attendant bearing
the fan, appears upon a cloud above the waves.

The queen is also represented with the large pear-shaped screen, as
in the painting of the same school, British Museum, 1022, the screen
decorated with the sun, moon, and clouds. In the painting previously
referred to (No. 1722), the goddess herself holds a smaller pear-shaped
screen. Each of the 'fore-mentioned paintings are Japanese, but the
fan forms are, unquestionably, taken from older Chinese originals.

The earliest illustrations, however, of this personage and her fan,

1 Anderson, B.Af. Catalogue, p. t2I.
48

WHITE PLUMED FAN OF HSI WANG MU
(From a painting of the Chinese School of Japan. British Museum.)

■I

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

and probably the oldest representations of fans in Chinese art, are
those of the sculptures of the Han dynasty, b.c. 206 — a.d. 25. In these,
Hsi-wang Mu, wearing a coroneted hat, is attended by ladies carrying
cup, mirror, and fan. On the same relief the Emperor Mu Wang of the
Chou dynasty, B.C. 1001, is attended by a servitor with fan and towel
or handkerchief. In the frieze forming the lower part of the relief,
we see the ' Chariot of the Sage ' preceded by two men on foot, with
staves and fans.

PEAR-SHAPED SCREENS
(Ftom paintings in the British Museum.)

On another of these reliefs, representing the discovery of one of the
sacred bronze tripods, the ancient palladia of the kingdom, the two com-
missioners deputed by the Emperor to superintend its recovery from the
river are attended by servitors bearing fans. These are the small hand-
screens (pien-mien) described by M. Rondot as being larger in the upper
part, their shape approaching that of a reversed trapezium with the angles

rounded off.

g 49

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This same author refers to four screens of white jade (regarded by
the Chinese as the most precious of precious stones), the handles of an
odoriferous amber, that were offered by the Emperor Chun-Hi of the
Southern Sung dynasty, 1174-1190, to his Empress. At this time the
screens were ornamented with incrustation and inscription, which was
much esteemed, and this author quotes a curious passage from the Annals
0/ the Thsi to the effect that Wang-sun-pen, of Kin-ling, represented in the
space of a few inches a perspective view of rivers, mountains, valleys, and
plains, stretching over a thousand miles of land. These screen pictures are
referred to in the Kit yii foufiu, an illustrated catalogue of ancient jade, in
one hundred books, compiled in 11 76 by an imperial commission headed
by Lung Ta-Yuan, President of the Board of Rites.

The small hand-screens assume a variety of forms — circular, pear-
shaped, heart-shaped, etc., and are made of various materials, as — (1) The
natural palm leaf, seen in the Chinese painting, British Museum, 37.
(2) The palm leaf cut to various shapes, with a bamboo handle running
up the middle, as in the Japanese example given on page 61. (3) Of bamboo ;
from Chinese records we learn that on the fifth day of the fifth month of the
year corresponding to our 219, the Emperor presented to the members of
the Imperial Academy a fan of bamboo, carved and painted blue. There is
also a record of an existing fan of oblong form, made of bamboo leaf,
ornamented with bulrushes, an inscription on the field of the fan. This
dates from the sixth century a.d. (4) Of the turtle shell : the two portions
held together with metal plates, with a wooden or other handle, examples
of which occur in the Musde Guimet, Paris. (5) Of silk stretched upon a
frame, with painted or other decoration, as in the two charming examples
illustrated from the collection of Mr. W. Crewdson. Both front and reverse
are given : the latter decorated in that system of feather-work much affected
by the Chinese, and in which they display great skill. The feathers are
usually the turquoise tinted plumes of the kingfisher : in the present

«S

s °

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

instance the design is alternated by an imbrication of peacocks' feathers.
The handles are of carved ivory.

There are also the cockade screens, usually of ivory or sandal-
wood.

Representations of the earlier large ceremonial banner screens appear
on a carved pedestal of a Buddhist image, Northern Wei dynasty, a.d.
524 ; these are oval in form, and are seen in both sculptured and painted
representations down to recent times.

In the Musde Guimet in Paris is a large fan of red lacquer framework
(reversed heart shape) enclosing a series of metal ribs through which the
wind plays ; in the centre are painted dragons.

Among the painted representations in the India Museum, of objects
from the Summer Palace at Pekin, is a circular screen, ' like the moon,'
borne by the guard of an imperial concubine. See illustration, p. 46.

A favourite device for the decoration of these larger screens is that of
the fabled Phoenix, the Ho bird of the Japanese. This is seen in the paint-
ing of the Chinese school of Japan, British Museum, 822, in which one
of the two attendants on a Chinese Emperor carries a long oval screen
bordered with peacocks' feathers, and ornamented with two Phoenixes.1

We therefore perceive that the ceremonies and customs relating to the
fan, no less than the various forms which this instrument assumed, were
practically identical with the ancient peoples of the East and West ; — the
same order of development, having its origin in the natural suggestion
afforded by the wings of birds and of the broader leaved plants ; the fans
of the Han dynasty reliefs, their exact counterpart being found in Egypt
and Assyria ; the rigid hand-screens corresponding to those tabellae
which the Romans derived from the Greeks, who in turn received them

1 In the romance of Amadis of Gaul it will be remembered that Appolidon gathered up the superb
purple and gold feathers of the Phcenix which had remained long enough in the island to change its plumage,
to make a fan ornamented with a diamond and carbuncle, as a present from Amadis to Oriane on arriving at
the island.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

from the peoples of Asia Minor, and which, doubtless, had their origin in
the more remote East ; the employment of the fan in both religious and
civil ceremonial and in war.1

Among the Bat Bu'u (eight precious things) carried at the end of staves
by the inhabitants of Annam in their ceremonial processions, is a fan (Quat)
symbolising the graceful perfection of the form of woman, and the light
breeze that tempers the heat of the summer sun.2 These Bat Bu'u are
made in three ways —

i. Of carved wood lacquered and gilt.

2. Of tin or pewter.

3. In the form of transparencies to be lighted from within.

A huge wooden fan is carried as part of the insignia of a mandarin's
procession.3

The invention of the folding-fan is generally credited to the ingenious
little inhabitants of the land of the rising sun ; its date, however, as well
as its precise character, is impossible to determine with anything ap-
proaching to accuracy. Tradition says that it was designed by an artist
who lived in the reign of the Emperor Jen-ji, about 670 a.d., and was
formed upon the principle of the construction of a bat's wing, this being
in conformity with the general usage of Japanese designers, who derived
their artistic motifs from natural constructive forms. The date of its intro-
duction into China is also a matter of considerable uncertainty : we have
a reference to it in a Chinese work of the date 960, to the effect that the
tsin-theou-chen, or folding-fan, was introduced by Tchang-ping-hai, and
was supposed to be offered as a tribute by the barbarians of the south-
east, who came, holding in their hands the pleated fan, which occasioned
much laughter and ridicule. All Chinese authors agree, however, that

1 M. Rondot quotes a passage from a native authority stating that the Chinese general, Tchou-ko-liang,
commanded his three army corps holding a fan of white plumes.

2 G. Dumoutier, Les Symboles, les Emblemes et les Aaessoires du culte chez les Annamites, pp. 116-18.

3 H. A. Giles, Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, p. 64, note 13.

•a

«1

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

it was the invention of foreigners, i.e. the Japanese, who, together with
the Tartars, possessed folding-fans before they were known in China.1

M. Rondot records the fact that at first, only courtesans made use
of folding-fans, honest women carried round screens.2

Since the appearance of the folding-fan, various materials have been
pressed into its service, including ivory, tortoise-shell, lacquer, mother
of pearl, the various woods — especially sandalwood, the more precious
metals, silk, skin, and paper.

No nation possesses a keener appreciation of ivory as a vehicle for
artistic expression than the Chinese, whose carved balls in concentric
spheres of open work are the wonder of western peoples. Ivory fans
date from a very remote period, it is believed as early as 990 B.C., and
are marvels of patient ingenuity.

The Imperial Ivory Works within the palace at Peking was founded
toward the close of the seventeenth century, and became the centre for
the best production in this delicate material.

Ivory fans are either of pierced fiat open work, or elaborately carved
with subjects, the backgrounds of which are formed by delicate ribbing,
imparting a lightness and softness to the fan not obtainable by any other
means. An extraordinarily skilful example is the cockade-fan in the Wyatt
collection at South Kensington ; this, together with several others in the
same collection, have monograms in cursive European characters, and
were executed to the order of Europeans. In each instance the blades
are connected by means of a ribbon running through the whole. One

1 The traditional account is here given — some explanation of the absence of definite dates may be
found in the hypothesis that there were always folding-fans — that the device of pleating a piece of paper
or other material is so simple that it might occur to the youngest child. As a matter of fact, Nature
herself invented the folded fan, as she may be said to suggest every invention. The palmetto leaf in its
undeveloped shape is pleated and packed as neatly and completely as any folding-fan ever made.

2 This circumstance of the introduction of a new fashion by courtesans finds a curious parallel in
Europe. Stow's Chronicle, Howes's edit., 1632, says: 'Womens Maskes, Buskes, Muffes, Fanns, Perewigs,
and Bodkins were first devised (sic) and used in Italy by Curtezans, and there received of the best sort
for gallant ornaments, and from thence they came to England, about the time of the massacre of Paris.'

HISTORY OF THE FAN

example only of these fans is given; that bearing the word 'Angela' —
fitting name of the gentle lady whose memory is revered wherever the
English language is spoken.

Tortoise-shell is carved with the same consummate skill as ivory, and
on the same principle of delicate piercing and ribbing. Two such fans
occur in the Wyatt collection, profusely decorated in relief with figures of
horsemen, buildings, boats, and flowers. The material, which is softened
both by warm water and dry heat, is obtained from the loggerhead turtle
of the Malay Archipelago and Indian Ocean, and imported to Canton, a
centre both for tortoise-shell and ivory workers. An extremely effective
and picturesque fan is that in the same collection, formed of the feathers
of the Argus pheasant, cut short to the fan shape, the sticks of carved
tortoise-shell. In this the colours of the feathers harmonise extremely well
with the translucent red brown of the tortoise-shell.

This material is also lacquered, one of the earliest and most prized
of the Chinese arts, and the technique of which is fully described in the
Ko ku yao Inn, a. learned work on antiquities published in the reign of
Hung Wu, the founder of the Ming dynasty, 1387. This substance is
obtained from the lac-tree {Rhus vemiciferd), cultivated for the purpose
throughout Central and Southern China. The tree exudes a resinous
sap that becomes black upon its exposure to the air, the sap being
extracted from the tree at night, during the summer months, and dried,
ground, and strained through hempen cloth to an evenly flowing liquid,
which is applied by the brush.

Gold plays an important part both in the composition of the lacquer
itself, to which it imparts a richness and pellucidity which is extremely
beautiful, and also in its subsequent decoration. The fan and case of
Canton lacquer in the Wyatt collection are richly decorated with panels
of buildings and gardens, on a diapered background, overlaid with flowers,
butterflies, and other devices, and are excellent examples of Chinese gold

Z,a£0tt£-rc& fia-n..

ladf M>rtAc£rfi

dczrretS ZrcryT^a-n-, ^-itA -r^ajrui-StnyeJa.. JMr W- JELu,rcC<.tt - Cou-tts . SM.7?

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

lacquer, an art which, although originating in China, has been somewhat
neglected, and has, at a later period, been brought by the Japanese to a
greater perfection than the Chinese have at any time attained.

Sandalwood is largely employed for fans, on account of its light-
ness, the ease with which it is worked, and also its fine aroma. The tree
is indigenous to India, and is imported by the Chinese, who employ it for
a variety of purposes, including the perfumed joss-sticks which are com-
mon throughout the East. These fans are worked on the same principle
of flat piercing as those of ivory. They are also carved in relief, but can
scarcely be said to rival the last-named substance with its delicate variety
of translucent softness. The large fan at South Kensington is a good
example.

Mother of pearl is a favourite material for fan-sticks on account of its
beautiful play of iridescent colour. A number of fans of Chinese work-
manship, both of mother of pearl and ivory, have found their way to
Europe and have been remounted. Such a fan is that in the Wyatt col-
lection with a subject finely painted on chicken skin by Eugene Andrd.

Bamboo has already been referred to as in early use. It is ex-
tensively employed for the cheaper fans on account of its durability as
well as cheapness. The number of ribs vary from sixteen to thirty-six;
the former may be regarded as the standard number.

The art of filigree is practised by the Chinese with the most consum-
mate skill; it is occasionally in gold, but more often in silver gilt, the
gilding being employed for the double purpose of preventing tarnishing
and for decorative effect. Filigree work is often enriched by means of
inlay, either enamel, or the turquoise feathers of the kingfisher, which
latter, however, are merely gummed on the surface of the metal, and, as
a consequence, are wanting in durability.

Enamelling has been practised in western Asia from a very early
period, i.e. previous to the Christian era, and is believed to have reached

HISTORY OF THE FAN

China about the thirteenth century. There are two kinds, both accom-
plished by the process known as incrustation — cloisonne, in which the
pattern is raised on the surface of the metal by soldering on to it metal
or wire strips of copper, silver, or gold, thus forming a series of cells or
cloisons ; and champleve, in which the cell-walls enclosing the pattern are
either modelled and cast, or cut and hollowed out of the metal itself by
means of graving tools : in both, the pattern is filled in with enamel.

Of the colours, there are two well-contrasted shades of blue — a dark
tint made from cobalt and resembling the lapis-lazuli tone, and a light
sky blue or turquoise; several greens made from copper, a dark coral red,
a fine yellow, black, and white.

Chinese enamels are usually fired in the open courtyard, protected
only by a primitive cover of iron network, the charcoal fire being regu-
lated by a number of men standing round with large fans in their hands.1

Of the interesting fans in which the combined arts of filigree and
enamel are employed we give a charming example from the Wyatt collection
at South Kensington. In this, the effective colour scheme is that of the
two blues and gold ; the design being a conventional rendering of a Phoenix
and foliage. In the colour plate given of the fan in the collection of Mr.
M. Tomkinson, the leaf has a large cartouche in the centre representing
a Chinese garden, with the hostess welcoming a visitor who has arrived
on horseback, the servant bringing tea. On either side are small medal-
lions of a sun-dial and a broken column, evidently introduced to the
order of a European patron.

Of the familiar class of fans having large compositions of figures
of which the heads are of applied ivory, painted, the costumes of silk
appliqud, the sticks of ivory elaborately carved, the example illustrated
from the collection of Mr. Burdett-Coutts belonged to a mandarin of
the first rank. A beautiful example was formerly in the possession of

1 S. W. Bushell, Chinese Art.
56

£A-Ctt-&J'e /^ZJZ, t^-t^tA^ i.ft>ry m^n^a^c*-*

Ai'

rv. &u.r*L.u - Cotuts . m.t:

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

H.I.M. the Empress Eugdnie,1 the stick of sandalwood. The brins
of these fans, twelve in number, are occasionally varied, as follows: —
Two of white ivory, pierced and carved ; two of silver filigree and
enamel ; two of ivory, pierced and carved, coloured scarlet ; two of tor-
toise-shell, carved and pierced ; two of engraved white pearl ; and two of
gilt filigree enamel. The panaches of gilt filigree, with silver dragons
in relief. An example occurs in the collection of Mr. Messel, another
was in the possession of the late Mr. R. W. Edis.

Almost every important city or district in China has its characteristic
fan — something distinctive in the make, colour, or ornamentation of the
folding-fan, which is the fan par excellence in the Chinese mind. The
convenience of this fan will at once be apparent — it occupies but little
space, it may, when not in use, be stuck in the high boot of the full-
dressed Chinaman, or in the ample folds of his dress.

These fans are made to suit every class of society from mandarin to
peasant — to suit the changing seasons, in different sizes in proportion to
the quantity of breeze required. The Son of Heaven, during the sultry
summer months, employs fans of feathers, and during winter of silk.
Fashion, however, lays down inexorable laws as to the time and period
of their use, and to be seen with a fan too early or too late in the year is
considered as mauvais ton. A poem by Ow-Yang Hisu informs us that
' In the tenth moon the people of the capital turn to their warm fans.'

During the warm weather the fan forms part of the ceremony of
tea-drinking ; the host takes his fan as soon as tea is drunk, and, bowing
to the company, says, ' Thsing-chen ' (I invite you to fan yourselves);
each guest immediately using his fan with great gravity and modesty.
It is considered a breach of etiquette to be without a fan on such an
occasion, or to refrain from its use.2

1 Her Imperial Majesty's collection of fans has for some time been dispersed.

2 Abel Remusat, Melanges posthumcs d'histoire et de littirature, quoted by G. Ashdown Audsley.

h 57

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The Chinese have exhausted every species of ingenuity in the con-
struction of fans of an outre" character. The ' broken fan,' a curious trick,
is to all intents and purposes a simple folding-fan, and opened from left
to right presents no feature uncommon. On being opened to the reverse,
the whole fan appears to fall to pieces, each bone, with the part attached,
being separated from the other as though the connecting strings were
broken : the principle is extremely simple, but the effect is surprising.

A fan which has been styled the ' impracticable,' is of circular form,
the radiants of ivory, tortoise-shell, sandalwood, or metal filigree, per-
forated to such a degree as to render it useless as a means of disturbing
the air. These are elaborately carved with figures, scroll-work, and other
designs, or with birds, flowers, etc., in silver gilt filigree.

The ' double-entente ' fan, opened in the ordinary manner, exhibits
some harmless motif such as a flower, bird, or landscape ; opened the
reverse way, it discloses a ribald sketch that would entail severe penalties
on its maker if discovered. The Peking variety shows two such pictures
which are not seen when the fan is opened, but are disclosed by turning
back the two end ribs of the fan.

The 'dagger-fan' is an invention of the Japanese, its importation
into China being strictly forbidden. In its outward appearance it is
sufficiently harmless, being apparently an ordinary lacquered folding-fan :
in reality it is a sheath containing a deadly blade, short and sharp,
resembling a small Malay kris (see illustration facing page 60). These
dagger or stiletto fans are by no means confined to the East ; in the
British Museum is a print of an Italian stiletto concealed in a case
made in imitation of a fan ; the panaches of ivory, engraved with
Italian arabesques.

Inscription fans are common, and exhibit an endless variety of
devices. Some are literary tours de force, the most famous being that
associated with the Emperor Chien WSn, of the Liang dynasty, a.d. 550,

Chinese . K*.rL /&&> Cenl.

Victoria (TiAlierCAi

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

and said to be the composition of the monarch himself. This consists
of a couplet of eight characters written in the eight corners of an
octagon fan. On beginning at any one of the eight characters and
reading round the way of the sun, it forms a couplet of perfect sense
and rhythm.

A story is told of a favourite of the Emperor Ch'eng Ti of the Han
dynasty, B.C. 32, whose name was Pan, and who for some time had been
a confidante of his Majesty and the Queen of the Imperial Seraglio.
Having persuaded herself that something more than an ordinary attach-
ment of the hour existed between herself and the ' Son of Heaven,'
finding her influence on the wane and being unable to conceal any longer
her mortification, grief, and despair, she forwarded to the Emperor a
circular screen-fan, upon which were inscribed the following lines express-
ing the contrast between the summer of her reciprocated love and
the autumn of her desertion : —

' O fair white silk, fresh from the weaver's loom,
Clear as the frost, bright as the winter snow —
See, friendship fashions out of thee a fan :
Round as the round moon shines in heaven above ;
At home, abroad, a close companion thou ;
Stirring at every move the grateful gale,
And yet I fear, ah me ! that autumn chills
Cooling the dying summer's torrid rage,
Will see thee laid neglected on the shelf,
All thought of bygone days, bygone like them.'1

From this period, in China, a deserted wife has been called an
autumn fan.

1 H. A. Giles, 'Chinese Fans,' Fraser's Magazine, May 1879.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

FANS OF THE FAR EAST— Continued

JAPAN

THE fan is regarded by the Japanese as an emblem of life,
that widens and expands as the sticks radiate from the
rivet or starting-point, and for this reason is selected
for the new-year's gift.1 It enters into almost every
affair of the life of the people, from Emperor to peasant ;
friends greet each other with a wave of the fan ; it is
one of the gifts which the bride takes with her to
her husband's house ; it is presented to the youth on
the attainment of his majority ; 2 it is used by jugglers
in feats of skill, by the umpires of wrestling matches
as signal, by singers to modulate their voices ; the
condemned man marches to the scaffold fan in hand ;
the executioner does not relinquish his fan during the
performance of his duty.

The early history of the fan in the country of Dai Nippon is substan-
tially the same as in all the countries of the far and nearer East, and
presents us with the same order of development, the earliest being formed
of the primitive palm leaf, or of feathers. We have, in the story of ' The
Tengus ' a description of the Dai or Master Tengu, who wears a long

1 Kaname, the rock which holds the earth together and keeps it quiet, means the rivet of a fan. The
great earthquake fish Namazu has the Giant Kashima for keeper, who was charged to subdue the eastern part
of the world, and accomplished this feat by running his sword through the earth. In time the sword
hardened into stone and was named Kaname (rivet). When Namazu becomes too violent and shakes
the earth, Kashima jumps upon him with the rock Kaname.

* 'Upon a male child being presented at his birth to the temple of his father's particular deity, he
receives, amongst other gifts, two fans, while a girl receives a cake of pomade, which brings good
looks.'

JVetstlkl , Tha DcUTiriyu with feather ix^cJu-tra. .WW. L.E>elirens.

'Vf FCLTI. JVfn W. L. -BeA-r*«*w.

CampI'a.nofEaales Featnens, lurmhajidLt.

AVL.C.Fi.Mcjtd..

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

FEATHER-FAN
(From a Japanese painting. British Museum.)

grey beard down to his girdle, moustaches to his chin, and carries in his left

hand as a sign of his rank a fan made of seven wide feathers pointed at the

tip : this he waves while singing a song,

doubtless for the purpose of modulating his

voice. The fan is identical in form with

that of Chung-li Ch'uan, one of the eight

Taoist immortals, referred to on page 47.
The rigid screens received from China

at the close of the sixth century are referred

to in the earlier part of this chapter, under

China. Those in use in Japan present no

material difference to the Chinese except in

the details of their decorative significance.

The larger screens were employed both in

civil and religious ceremonial, as war standards,
and waved by servants in attendance upon
royal and distinguished personages. These
latter denoted the rank of the owner, the
material being of silk or other fabric stretched
over a wooden framework, painted or other-
wise decorated, the forms extremely varied,
but more usually those of the circle, oval, or
pear. The pear-shaped hand-screen is seen
in the hands of Hotei, the fat god of prosperity,
and of Juro, the god of longevity, as an
invariable accompaniment of those divinities.
An example is given from a portrait of Lu
T'ung-pin, a Taorist Rishi of the eighth
century, by Go-gaku, nineteenth century,

This has a red tassel or tail at the end of the
61

HAND-SCREEN, BAMBOO HANDLE
(From a Japanese painting. British Museum.)

British Museum, 640.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

fan, a kind of combination of fan and fly-whip. A similar fan appears in
a painting of the Caligraphic school, British Museum, 1617. This fan
is of Chinese origin, and is constantly represented in the art of that
country.

Fly-whips were also used. Of the representations of the sixteen Arhats
(Buddhist divinities) given in the ' Butsu zo dzu-i,' three hold fly-whips
(futsujin) in their hands. This instrument is also seen in the right hand of
Vimalakirrti, an Indian priest, in the painting on silk attributed to
Shingetsu, Sesshiu school, fifteenth century, British Museum collection.

The fly-whip or chasse-mouche was also used by generals while on
horseback, this being made of strips of tough paper suspended from a
lacquered handle mounted with bronze.

A list of the more important varieties of Japanese fans, together with
the dates of their introduction, as given by native authorities, will probably
be of service.

Rigid fans or hand-screens, introduced from China, end of sixth
century a.d.

Folding-fans (bamboo), invented by the Japanese, 668-671 a.d.

Gumbai Uchiwa, flat iron battle-fans, eleventh century.

Gun Sen, folding iron battle-fans, twelfth century.

Hi ogi, court-fans, eleventh century.

Mai ogi, dancing-fans, beginning of seventeenth century.

Rikiu ogi, tea-fans,

Water-fans for kitchen use, eighteenth century.

The invention of the folding-fan has already been referred to. Its

earliest form is the Komori (bat), so named from the supposition of the wing

of this animal suggesting the principle of its construction. It is formed

of fifteen bamboo sticks having a slight re-divergence springing from

the handle end, so that when held closed in the hand as it is by courtiers

while fulfilling the office of fan-bearing, it still appears open. It is stated

4
p

fri

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

that this spread-out form was adopted as court-fan on account of the misuse
of the dagger-fan. The mount is of paper, which may be painted with any
design in any colour except the unlucky green and light purple.

One of the many traditions of its invention may be given. It is
attributed to a fan-maker of the Tenji period, 668-672, whose name is
forgotten, living at Tamba near Kyoto. He was married to a shrew, and
on a certain night a bat having found its way into the sleeping-room, the
woman reviled her husband for not getting up to throw the vampire out.
The animal coming in contact with the lamp, scorched its wings and fell to
the floor. As the man picked it up, the opening of the creature's wings
suggested to him the principle of a folding-fan that might be carried in
one's sleeve.1

The Suye hiro ogi (wide end) has a similar divergence to the foregoing,
with the addition of a slight curve or rounding of the outward sticks. It
was used for the dances in the No drama ; the number of sticks varying
from fifteen to twenty-five. This also dates from the seventh century.
The example illustrated is decorated with a series of crests of various
families on a gold ground. In a drawing by Bun-chin, nineteenth century,
British Museum, 891, of Performers in the ' No' Theatre, is represented a
beautiful fan of a peacock with outspread tail and branches of bamboo,
in gold, blue, and green. This fan is of the ordinary shape.

The Akome" ogi is the earlier court-fan, and dates from the invention of
the folding-fan in the seventh century. It consists of thirty-eight blades of
wood painted white, decorated with cherry, pine, plum, or chrysanthemum,
on a ground of gold and silver powder, ' among the mist.' The fan is
ornamented at the corners with an arrangement of artificial flowers in silk,
with twelve long streamers of different coloured silks ; the rivet is formed of
either a bird or butterfly. This type of fan was in use by the court ladies
until 1868.

1 Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art.
63

HISTORY OF THE FAN

By the courtesy of Mr. W. Crewdson we are enabled to reproduce one

of these rare fans, bearing the following inscription : —

' The decorations at the end of this Akome-ogi show that it was used by a court
lady. At Kioto, the Mikado's Palace had Lemon trees at the right-hand side of the
entrance and Cherry trees at the left ; hence these ornaments composed of Cherry
flowers and Pine knots.'

The description which Pierre Loti has given us of these fans is
so charming that we cannot refrain from quoting it.

' They wave with constant motion, or carry shut, their court-fans, on the pleated
silk (?) of which are delicately painted dreamy fancies, of inexpressible charm, picturing
the reflection in the water of cloud forms, of moons wintry pale, the flight of birds,
or showers of peach blossom wafted by the wind in April mists. At each angle of
the mount is tied an enormous tassel with shades of chenille, the ends of which trail
along the ground, brushing the fine sand at each movement of the fan.'

The Hi-ogi court-fans are made of the Hi wood (Chamcecyparis
obtusa), this being a soft light velvety wood of a beautiful golden
brown, having the additional advantage of immunity from the attacks
of wood-eating insects. The brins are twenty-five in number, fastened
with a metal rivet, and threaded through with silk strings having
very long ends, looped at the top corner of the outer ribs to form a
rosette or other floral device. These fans were first introduced with the
simple ornament of the owner's crest afterwards they were painted with
great elaboration and delicacy.

At court ceremonial the Emperor and nobles often bear the Hi-ogi
instead of the Shaku, which is a short staff or sceptre made of wood
(yew) or ivory, generally held vertical in the right hand against the lower
part of the chest, to give the body a more dignified bearing ; when the
fan is borne, it is generally carried closed, and held in the same manner
as the Shaku.1

Before the age of fifteen a fan of common wood is carried, painted

1 Josiah Conder, Japanese Costume.
64

Court Fcutys Fart. A home Ooft ■

A/VyViUon- Crewd^ on-

War Fan . Gu n Sen 1

AC WHa-rvLry SrrUtL.

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

on the outside, and ornamented with silk threads or strings in five
colours ; on his sixteenth birthday the Japanese youth attains his majority
and receives a present of a fan.

The code regulating all the details of court ceremonial is absolute,
and always observed ; the use of ivory for the Shaku is confined to the
highest ranks, or the most important ceremonial ; no noble could use
an ivory Shaku on any occasion. The various usages connected with the
fan are subjected to similar restrictions.

Ladies carried in place of the Shaku the Hi-ogi.

A fan of special make and design is used by the Empress, and its
use is forbidden to any subject. The blades are twenty-three in number,
connected with a white silk ribbon. The decoration is confined to the
chrysanthemum, pine, orange blossom, plum, or Camellia Japonica. The
ribbon rosettes or loops, affixed to the top of the outer blades, are arranged
in keeping with the particular flower which is represented on the fan ;
these have seven long streamers, four feet long, of different colours. The
rivet also is of a particular kind — paper string}

Chukei are fans borne by priests and nobles ; these have a re-
divergence at the ends, and date from the period of the introduction of
the folding-fan ; they are often painted with the most consummate skill,
reflecting the best traditions of Japanese art. Many of these paintings
exist ; in most cases the leaves have been removed from the sticks and
mounted as pictures.

Fabulous stories are extant recounting the marvellous accomplish-
ment of the painters of the earlier epochs ; amongst these is an account
of Tadahira, who is said to have painted upon a fan a cuckoo which
uttered its characteristic note whenever the fan was opened, and of
Tsunenori, who drew a lion so life-like that other beasts fled
from it.

1 Mrs. Salwey, Fans of Japan.
65

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The leading schools of Japanese painting are the Buddhist, Yamato-
Tosa. Chinese, Sesshiu Kano, Matahei (popular), Korin, Shijo (natural-
istic), and Ukiyo ; each of these has well-marked characteristics preserved
even to the present day.

The art of Japan was to a great extent founded upon, and is in
certain directions a development of, that of the older civilisation of China.
The earliest artist, therefore, recorded in Japanese annals, is a Chinese,
Nanriu by name, of royal descent, who came to Japan about the end of
the fifth century ; but of this master, and of his immediate successors, there
are no known examples.

It was in the succeeding century, upon the introduction of Buddhism
into Japan, that we find the first establishment of a school of Japanese
art, initiated by the Chinese and Coreans, and dedicated to the mural
decoration of Buddhistic temples.

From the sixth to the ninth centuries, the history of Japanese painting
is more or less clouded in doubt, and the first great artist who emerges
from the general obscurity is Kanaoka (ninth century), although the few
examples extant which are attributed to this painter are doubted by the
best experts.

The Yamato-Tosa school, though the direct outcome of the study
of Chinese methods, was essentially Japanese and naturalistic in character,
and was founded by Kasuga Motomitsu in the latter part of the tenth
century.

In the thirteenth century Tsunetaka, son of Kasuga Mitsunaga,
assumed the name of Tosa and gave to the Yamato school the name it
has since retained.

An important movement set in at the beginning of the fifteenth
century, no less than a Chinese renaissance. For centuries Chinese
influence had been waning, and the national style of Yamato and Tosa had
held the field.

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

Sesshiu, the remarkable painter who founded the school bearing his
name, was of the noble family of Ota, and was born in 1440. At the
age of twelve or thirteen he was intended for the Church and placed
under the instruction of the abbot of the temple of Hofukuji. Sesshiu's
sympathies, however, were all in the direction of the fine arts, he neglected
religious training, and a story is told of him — one of those extraordinary
legends familiar in Chinese and Japanese annals — that upon one occasion,
when bound to a pillar as punishment for some misconduct, he beguiled
the weary hours of waiting by drawing rats upon the floor, using his
toes for pencil and his tears for ink (1), the representation being so life-like
as to alarm his janitor. Some versions of the story affirm that, upon the
approach of the priest, the rats scampered away.

At the age of forty he visited China, the fountain-head, but was
surprised to find that he had more to teach than to learn.

The fan of Hotei and the children, probably by Kano Sho-yei, 1591,
may be accepted as one of the finest examples of a painted fan of the Kano
school, the last of the three branches of the fifteenth-century revival of
Chinese teaching. The school was founded by Masanobu, a painter of
landscape, born c. 1423 and died 1520, its actual head, however, being
Motonobu, his son, born 1476.

Hotei (Master Linen-sack), the god of prosperity, was a Chinese

priest of the tenth century, famous for his fatness and his love of children.

He could sleep in the snow, never washed himself, and had the power of

infallibly predicting future events. The legends attached to his name are

very similar to those narrated of many Taoist Rishis, but his claim to

a position as Divinity appears to be due to the view enunciated in the

Butsu-Zo dzu-i and other works, that he was an incarnation of Miroku

Bosatsu Maitreya, the Messiah of the Buddhists, in which capacity his

image has long been worshipped in Chinese temples. He is usually

represented with a fan of the pear-shaped gourd type, and carries a cloth

HISTORY OF THE FAN

bag as a trap for little boys and girls, who are enticed inside to see the
wonderful things it is supposed to contain, and then imprisoned until
they can beg their way out. These ' Precious Things ' include the Lucky
Rain Coat, the Sacred Key, the Inexhaustible Purse, etc.1

Innumerable pictures of Hotei by Japanese artists are in existence,
some dating from the fifteenth century.

The charmingly poetic view of the Tamagawa River, with the tea-plant
in blossom, and flying cuckoo (Hoto-Togisu), is probably by Kano San
Raku, 1633. Both these fans are accompanied by a Japanese certificate
of authenticity.

Autograph, motto, and inscription fans are referred to in another part of
this work.2 The practice of inscribing sacred texts upon fans, obtained
during the latter part of the eleventh and beginning of the twelfth century,
the period ' when the Buddhist religion was openly professed by the
wealthy and warmly supported by the luxurious.' Fragments of Buddhist
sutras written on fans and fan leaves exist at the temples at Yamato, 6saka,
the Imperial Museum T6kyo, and elsewhere. These are copied from the
' Lotus of the True Law,' or other Mahayana texts of a like nature. The
fans, though differing somewhat in size, are all alike in paper, pigments, and
style of painting, and evidently had a common origin ; they are overlaid
with gold-leaf and dusted with fine sand ; upon this a thin wash of red
or black pigment is applied. The sacred text is written in ink, over a
painting, usually a figure-subject and bearing no reference to the text ;
the faces sketched in a curious convention known as Hikime" Kagihana
(eye with a line, the nose with a key), in which the eye is represented
by a straight line and the nose with a somewhat acute angle. This
convention has been traced to Kasuga Takayoshi (beginning of the
twelfth century), who painted a number of picture rolls illustrating the
tales of the Genii.

1 Anderson, British Museum Catalogue of Japanese Paintings. 2 Chapter XI. page 285.

5
s

•5 3

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

A fan leaf owned by the Temple of Saikyoji, Sakamoto, Omi, is
illustrated in Selected Relics of Japanese Art, S. Tajima. A hi-ogi,
with figures and pine-tree, in the Shinto Temple, Itsukushima-Jinsha
Aki, is illustrated in the same work : this latter, doubtless, is a production
of the Taira era, possibly a dedication to the temple from a scion of the
Taira family, and painted by a daughter of Taira Kiyomori, the premier,
1 1 67- 1 1 80, the writer of the 'Lotus of the True Law.'

A similar combination of painting and writing obtained later, and was
practised by Koyetsu Hon-Ami, the predecessor of Korin Ogata, the reputed
founder of the Korin school. This artist was a skilful writer of Chinese
ideographs, in which art he was one of the ' Three Pens ' of his time,
being the founder of the Koyetsu school of caligraphy.1

A fine example of Koyetsu in the possession of Baron Ryuichi Kuki is
reproduced in Mr. Tajima's work. This is painted on a gold ground, and
represents a rabbit in a flowered field. The fan is divided in two parts, the
writing, which is by the artist, being on the gilt portion. Koyetsu died at
Kyoto in 1637, aged eighty-two.

The Ukiyoye" school included most of the makers of colour prints ;
two of the more famous of them, Masanobu Kiato, and Hokusai Katsushika,
born in the same year, 1760, also painted fans. The former opened a shop
at Ginza for the sale of smokers' implements and medicine, and sold besides
folding-fans and long panels upon which poems were written ; both of these
he ornamented with sketches ; they became renowned far and wide, and
from their sale he derived large profit.

A fan leaf by Hokusai, a masterly sketch of the head and shoulders of
a ' Beauty,' is illustrated in Tajima's work, as also several fans painted
with courtesans, by an almost equally celebrated maker of colour prints,
Kunisada.

1 Beautiful writing is highly prized both in China and Japan. Caligraphy, says Mr. S. W. Bushell
(Chinese Art, p. 31), is a branch of the fine arts in China, and the penman who can write elegantly in sweep-
ing lines with a flowing brush is ranked above the artist.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Battle- or war-fans are of two kinds— the flat, rigid screen (uchiwa)
which is the earliest, and the folding (ogi). In both, iron is the material of
which it is mainly composed. The first named is sometimes formed com-
pletely of metal (iron and brass), is of considerable weight, and is used by
officers both for direction, offence and defence, i.e. as baton, weapon,
and shield.

This sometimes assumes a circular form, and is occasionally inlaid with

the more precious metals ; more often, however, it resembles the pear-

or gourd-shaped screen. In the centre example illustrated, belonging to

Mr. W. Harding Smith, the handle is of lacquered wood, the ornaments

at its extremities, together with the rim of the fan blade, of bronze gilt ; it

bears an inscription on the obverse in Japanese, and on the reverse in

Chinese, as follows : —

Japanese script.

' Kisei ai shozaru jun-kwan
no hashi naki-ga gotoshi.'

' Wrong and right (or odd and even) happen for ever,
impartially, like the revolving ball.'

This may, possibly, be rendered by the following : —

' Defeat and victory succeed each other
by a turn of Fortune's wheel.'

Chinese script.
1 Sono toki-koto kaze no gotoku
Sono shizuka-nuru koto hayashi no gotoshi.'

' Its sharpness is as the wind, its softness
as the grave.'

The fan in the possession of Mr. W. L. Behrens is ornamented with

two dragons in low relief, the motto ' Tenka tai hei ' (international peace).

In the folding battle-fan, the stick is of wrought iron, the branches

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

varying from ten to fourteen in number ; in many military fans, the
stick is of bamboo, painted black, the guards of iron, often arrow-shaped,
and richly inlaid with silver.1

The decoration of the mount, of thick paper, consists of the sun, moon,
or north star, usually in red, but also in gold, on a black or coloured ground.
An unusual example, illustrated, has a gold sun on the one side, and a
silver crescent moon and nine golden planets on the reverse ; the ground
being light, the guards of yellow bronze, ' seutoku.'

The fine fan in the possession of Mr. L. C. R. Messel has on the
obverse a golden sun with two flying birds, and on the reverse a silver sun
with similar birds.

The sun motif is occasionally abandoned in favour of a figure-subject.
M. Ph. Burty exhibited at Liverpool in 1877 a fan that belonged to a
commander-in-chief; the leaf, of stout buff paper covered with silk tissue, is
painted in india ink with the Seven Sages in the Forest of Bamboru.
The brins are of plain whalebone, the panaches of oxidised iron, elaborately
inlaid with scroll-work and crests in silver, the latter being of the powerful
family of Nai-To. Another fan from the same collection belonged also to
an officer of high rank. The brins are of bronze gilt, the panaches of
polished iron, shaped like slips of bamboo, and chased with lions and
flowers. On the inside of one panache is an inscription in inlaid gold,
stating that the ironwork was made by U. Da-Kane-Signe ; the leaf of
glistening paper.

The most characteristic war-fans are, however, those having the simple
red sun, with no superfluous decoration, the initial purpose of these instru-
ments being that of a signal. They constantly appear in representations of
battle-scenes, the general on his war-horse in the heat of battle brandishing
in his right hand the fan, the symbol of his authority and command. In

1 In this process of metal inlay, the ground is broken up by means of an engraver's tool, the pattern
formed of silver wire, hammered in.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Hokusai's painting of ' Tamdtomo and the Demons ' (British Museum, No.
1747), the hero is grasping a huge bow in his right hand, and waving the
folding battle-fan in his left.

In a print by Kuniyoshi (c. 1820) of the battle of Kawanakajima
between Uyesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen (fifteenth century), a sword-
cut is parried by the war-fan.

In a representation of the same battle by Yoshitora, a dismounted
general is directing with a war-fan an attack by spearmen.

In the colour print by Hiroshige 11. of Yoshitsune and Benkei, the war-
fan also appears.

In the print by Shunsui of Atsumori and Kumagai, the hero, mounted,
is plunging into the sea followed closely by his adversary Kumagai, also
mounted, brandishing the war-fan as a signal and challenge.1 Two of the
many stories or legends relating to the war-fan may be given. — The first
refers to Nasu no Yoichi, an archer, whose clan took the fan as their crest,2
in allusion to his performance at the battle of Yashima in 1185. 'When
the Taira were driven from Kyoto by the Minamoto in 1182, the Empress
Ni no Ama flew with the child-emperor Antoku, to the shrine of Itsukum-
isha, where thirty pink fans, bearing the design of the sun disc (Hi no Maru)
were kept. The head-priest gave one to Antoku, saying that it contained in
the red disc the Kami of the dead Emperor Takakura (1 169-1 180), and would
cause arrows to recoil upon the enemy. The fan was accordingly attached
to a mast of the Taira ship, on which a court lady is always depicted, and a
challenge sent to Minamoto no Yoshitsune, which was accepted by one of
his archers, Nasu no Yoichi, who on horseback rode in the waves, and with

1 The widow of Atsumori who was killed in the fight here referred to, in 1184, is credited with the
invention of the folding-fan, although dates are somewhat confusing. At the temple of Mieido in Kyoto,
whither she had retired to hide her grief under the garb of a nun, she cured the abbot of a fever by fanning
him with a paper folding-fan over which she muttered incantations : and to this day the priests of the temple
are considered special adepts in the manufacture of fans ; hence the name Mieido is adopted by many fan
shops all over the islands. (Basil Chamberlain, Things Japanese.)

2 The fan was used as crest by many Japanese families. A number of examples are given in Mrs. Salwey's
Fans 0/ Japan.

War /tests , Gun. Sen ,

Mc IV. Hardlny SmltA..

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

a well-directed arrow broke the rivet which held the leaves together, and thus
shattered the fan.'

The second tells of Araki, a Samurai whom Oda Nobunaga wished to
kill, summoning him to audience, placing himself in such a position that the
neck of the Samurai came in line with the sliding panels separating the
audience chamber from the daimio's room, intending to have the shoji
slammed together as the man knelt, and thus decapitate him. Araki, sus-
pecting the trap, promptly laid his iron fan in the groove, jamming the
shutters, and thus saving himself.1

The Ha uchiwa (jin sen) is a camp-fan originally introduced from
China in the seventh century and made of the feathers of the eagle, pheasant,
or peacock, the handle usually lacquered red, black, or blue ; the interesting
example illustrated is formed of eagles' feathers fixed in a horn handle.

Dancing-fans (Mai ogi) were introduced at the beginning of the seven-
teenth century. The brins are ten in number, the mount of thick paper,
usually bearing a family crest. One of the earliest of these fans is to be
seen in the painting of a dancer by Matabei (born 1578), in the Morrison
collection (reproduced in Painting in the Far East, Laurence Binyon), the
decoration of the mount consisting of a few scattered leaves.

The fan is the most usual accompaniment of the dance, and is
generally seen in the hands of the Kagura dancers or of the performers with
the Shishi mask. The fan dance, which is more nearly allied to jugglery
than to the dance, is said to commemorate the performance of Uzume while
alluring the Sun Goddess Amaterasu from the cavern, whither she once
retired, plunging the world into temporary darkness by her absence. In
this, the fan represents the leaves of the pine-tree, the performer balancing a
number on his forehead, nose, mouth, hands and feet.

Tea-fans (Rikiu ogi) are for use at the tea ceremonies celebrated in
honour of tea in every province on the first day of the first month, and com-

1 Henri L. Joly, Legend in Japanese Art.

k 73

HISTORY OF THE FAN

memorating the curing of the Emperor Murakami, 947-967 a.d., of a disease
against which the physicians were powerless. The Emperor recovered after
drinking an offering of tea made to the Goddess Kwanyin. The code, that
formerly was of a gorgeous description, was modified later by Sen-no Rikiu,
from whom the fan set apart as cake tray or saucer derives its name. The
Rikiu fan is of the simplest possible construction, having only three sticks,
the decoration also being of a simple character. It is used for handing
round little cakes, and for no other purpose, fanning being strictly tabooed
during such a dignified proceeding.1

The giant closing fans (Mita ogi) were used in the processions at Ise in
honour of the Sun Goddess, the traditional originator of the Japanese
dynasty. These were six or seven feet long, five men being appointed to
carry one of this huge magnitude.

Water-fans (Mizu uchiwa), for kitchen use, date from the eighteenth
century. These are of bamboo split into segments, covered with stout
paper, and varnished or lightly lacquered so as to allow of the fan being
dipped in water, thus securing extra coolness by evaporation. They are
often decorated with figures and other subjects, the varnish subsequently
applied being of a rich warm brown.

Roll-up fans (Maki uchiwa) are circular, the paper stiffened with
thin strips of bamboo ; the handle is of bamboo cut through with a slit
to allow the circular fan, which is set on a pivot, to have free play.
When open, the strips of the bamboo foundation are horizontal, thus
securing rigidity; when not in use, the position of the strips may be
reversed, and the disc rolled round the stick and tied.

Of modern fans, those of ivory and tortoise-shell, carved or decorated
with lacquer and inlay, are, for the most part, made for exportation, and
are often of extreme beauty. The excellent example in the Victoria and
Albert Museum is decorated with circular medallions in gold lacquer of

1 Mrs. Salwey, Fans of Japan.

j41r: H'. 7i?rrLAc-7i*r0n,-

FANS OF THE FAR EAST

various shades, portions being carved in relief. It is finely inlaid in
places with mother of pearl ; signed by Taishin (a pupil of Zesshin), and
dated 1884. An example, equally fine, is given from the collection of
Mr. M. Tomkinson. This is decorated with a view of Fuji san, or
Fuji-no-yama (peerless mountain); those born within its watch are con-
sidered most happy and fortunate beings.

' Great Fujiyama, tow'ring to the sky !

A treasure art thou giv'n to mortal man,

A god-protector watching o'er Japan —
On thee for ever let me feast mine eye.'1

Of the cheaper hand-screens exported in large quantities to Europe,
the simplest form is that of a dried palm leaf cut to the required shape,
and bound round the edge, the stem forming the handle. The most
common variety is made by splitting bamboo into thin strips that are
spread out radially, fastened with thin cord, and covered with paper ; these
are decorated with designs displaying high qualities of arrangement
and graphic skill, and are printed in that process of chromoxylography
which, if not actually invented by the Japanese, has been carried by them
to its highest point of excellence. A more elaborate hand-screen is also
exported, the covering of silk, painted.

It will be readily understood, that the fan, entering as it does so
closely into the daily life of the Japanese, should also form the subject
of many games. Two characteristic instances may be cited. The ' fan
and cup' game was particularly favoured by court nobles and ladies.
A company met by the river, each member launching on the water a fan
prepared with varnish or lacquer to ensure buoyancy and to prevent
absorption of moisture. The game consisted in the composition of a
verse or couplet of poetry during the time the fans were at the mercy
of wind and wave, and before they regained terra-firma. Tea-cups were

1 Ode from the Manyoskin, translated by Basil Chamberlain.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

also used, this last being illustrated in a Chinese makimono by Hwei-chi
Ku-Yuen, British Museum, 276.

In the ogi otoshi or fan target game, a target called ' cho,' made some-
what in the form of a butterfly, is placed on a low table or pedestal on the
floor. A fan is thrown from a given distance with a sudden and peculiar
turn of the wrist, causing it to reverse itself in its passage through the
air and strike the target with the rivet end. This game is played by
two people facing the target at opposite ends. Bells are attached to the
outer edge of the 'cho,' that sound when a successful hit has been
accomplished.1

No notice, however brief, of the fans of Japan would be complete
without some reference to the constant employment of the fan form as a
decorative motif in Japanese design, one of the many evidences of the
important place the fan holds in the affections of the people. Lacquered
tea-trays assume the shape of the fan ; inkstands take the form of a
closed fan, the ink-well at the rivet end, the body of the fan forming a
case for pens ; 2 while in diapered patterns, borders, and other decoration,
both flat and in relief, the fan motif is constantly made use of. The
interesting series of fan-shaped panels illustrative of Japanese history, by
an unknown artist of the Yamato Tosa school, seventeenth century,
British Museum, 305-324, are excellent instances of the use of the fan
form in flat decoration, these being probably removed from an old screen.
Three kakemonos in the collection of Mr. R. Phene- Spiers are each finely
painted with four full-sized fans, decorated with various lilies, drawn with
that consummate skill and knowledge of plant form which would appear
to be the peculiar heritage of the sons of Dai Nippon.

1 Transactions of tlie Japan Society, vol. v. Paper by Mrs. Salwey on Pastimes and Amusements
of the Japanese.

- In the Musee Guimet, Paris, is a tea-service, fine in execution, signed 'Kawamoto Hansouke,'
an artist of the province of Owari, the saucers being shaped like fans. In the same collection is a
large plate, fourteen inches in its longest dimension, shaped like a folding-fan.

Three. CAUJi

&L:

-M 'Z. C.TUAiejsel.

l^a-lrn. Leaf Fan*, u*ed- by tLe. Crrc^tt- Chitfe, Fyt-,

Hide, Fast, Ny*.rU.. BrU^lMajt-u^.

CHAPTER IV

FANS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

IN any survey of the industrial arts of the more primi-
tive nations or peoples, three facts must be taken
into consideration: ist, climatic conditions; 2nd, the
natural products indigenous to the country, and the
outcome of its climatic conditions ; 3rd, the degree of
the intellectual development of its inhabitants.

The study of any particular branch of art pre-
supposes some acquaintance with the history of the
people among whom the art was practised. In con-
1 V sidering, however, the art of primitive peoples, this

* matter of history and association plays but a minor

part. Pictorial storiation is practically non-existent, individualism is lost
in the collective racial influence. Moreover, the raw material of industry
is precisely the kind readiest to hand, and generally demanding the
minimum of skill in its working.

The fans of primitive or more or less uncivilised peoples may there-
fore be divided into three or four distinct types: ist, the natural palm-leaf
fans, common in most palm-producing countries ; 2nd, the plaited rush-,
grass-, or cane-fans, these being generally of the spatula, or half-halberd
shape; 3rd, hide-fans, which usually take the form of round or oval
screens; 4th, feather-fans, the character being necessarily determined
by the kind of feathers employed.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

It will readily be perceived that the earliest and simplest forms are
those supplied ready to hand by Nature herself, viz. palm-leaf fans.
These may be divided into two great classes. In the one, the leaf is set
symmetrically on the stem ; in the other, it is fixed laterally ; in both instances
the natural stem forms the handle. An excellent example of the first
named is the large fan made from the leaf of the Pritchardia pacifica,
used only by the great chiefs of the Fiji Islands. In this the leaf is cut to
the shape of a reversed heart, bound round the border by a wisp, the
ends of the fronds being arranged in tufts at intervals round the edge
of the fan, forming an agreeable contrast to the simple radiating lines
of the leaf.

In the second class of palm-fan, one side of the leaf is either cut
away or bent laterally, the large leaves of the Palmyra or Talipot palms
being used, cut short, the edges worked round with an applied border
of thin strips of the leaf. This form appears to be ubiquitous;
it is common, not only to primitive peoples, but also to the more
civilised countries of the East. In India it appears both in the
form of the smaller hand-fans and the larger pankhas, often richly
decorated in colour, with inserted plaques of mica, or other ornamental
device.

The art of plaiting with rush, straw, grass, cane, roots, and other
flexible materials is one of the very earliest practised by man ; we find it in
constant use amongst savage tribes, who employ the process for mats,
baskets, various coverings for the person, and other articles of personal and
domestic use ; both the technical skill and the aesthetic effect being often of
a very high order. It will at once be perceived that this process is especially
suited to the fan, which demands, above all things, lightness of construction ;
the plaited fan is therefore the most usual form in that vast group of
islands known as Polynesia, as well as in most other countries situated
within the equatorial belt.

FANS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

The principle of plaiting is to commence from the stick or handle,
which generally extends two-thirds of the distance along the blade or leaf
of the fan. The stick is generally of wood, occasionally of ivory, and in
some instances both substances are employed, the handle often elaborately
carved.

The most usual shape is that of a spear cut crosswise and shortened :
the ordinary principle of form - development is followed, from extreme
attenuation lengthwise, to extreme width and shortness, the form of the
lower border varying from an acute angle to a semicircle, the top varying
from straight line to arched or curved.

The plaiting is of varying degrees of fineness according to the
character of the leaf, straw, cane, or fibre employed. The patterning also
varies, occasionally straw of a different colour (black or brown) being
introduced.

This type of fan is found in the Marquesas Islands (South Pacific),
the Hervey (Cook) Islands, Solomon Islands, Samoa, and the Hawaiian or
Sandwich Islands. A large plaited broad rush-fan appears in the Horni-
man Museum, made and presented by Queen Kapiolani of the Hawaiian
Islands (illustrated p. 272) ; a similarly formed fan appears in the same
collection from Tahiti.

In some examples from Samoa in the British Museum collection, the

HISTORY OF THE FAN

shapes are slightly more varied, remarkably so in one instance in which the
top border assumes a pointed or zigzag pattern. The kite shape also
is found in various forms. (Page 81, Nos. i, 2, 3.)

In the Hawaiian group a spatula shape appears, this also being

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

developed to its utmost limit of breadth or width, the handles of plaited
hair, in two colours, forming a pattern.

In British Guiana a curious fan (warri warri) is used, formed of strips
of the Ita palm, having no stem, but simply a rolled edge, either single
or double (crosswise), forming a finish to the leaf or blade, and affording
a grip for the hand. The size of these fans varies from six to fifteen inches.
A development of the above form is used as bellows by the natives of
Ecuador and Peru ; the double handle slightly longer, the forms varied
to leaf and shield shape. In India, also, the two-handled bellows-fan
is used, made of strips of the leaf-stalk of the Tucuma palm.

In the British Museum is a curious little fan having only a loop
for handle, formed of plaited reed (Iturite) of two colours, brown and
black. (Page 81, No. 8.)

In the hide-fans common on the western border of Africa, the

form approaches that of a circular screen, set on a wooden handle. In

these the ornamentation is either formed of the natural markings of the

hide, or an ' applique ' of leather, painted white, and cut to various

perforated patterns, so as to show a bright vermilion feather stuff in the

perforations ; the three colours, the brown or black of the hide, the

, a, 3, ii, u. SAMOA. <, 5. BRITISH GUIANA. 6, 7, 9. ECUADOR AND PERU. 9, 10. SOUTH-EASTERN PACIFIC.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

white leather, and the vermilion perforations forming a very effective con-
trast. Examples from Nigeria appear in the British Museum collection.
A smaller fan of goatskin is in the Horniman Museum. These hide-fans
form part of the fantastic death-dance costumes of Old Calabar.

Feathers, although constantly employed as ornaments to the person,
are less commonly used for fans than might generally be supposed,
especially in countries where bird life is abundant.

Amongst the Blackfoot nation of North American Indians, eagles'
feathers were used as a standard of valour at the advent of the white
man, and the capture of eagles was regarded as a sacred ceremony. In the
British Museum is a fan of these eagles' feathers, with a handle covered
with coarse linen of a printed pattern ; to the tip of each feather is affixed
a small pink fluffy feather, thus forming a pink border to the top of the
fan, the border being repeated at the top of the handle. This was pro-
cured from ' Little Ears,' a Blood Indian. A similar fan, minus the
handle, appears in the same collection ; in this instance the tips of the
feathers are ornamented with little tails made of hair, varied at the lower
ends by white fur. In consequence of a dream that appeared to a
Blood chief named Bears' Lodge, a dance was instituted in which these
fans were waved, and whistles made of eagles' bones were carried and
used. (Illustrated opposite.)

Ceremonial fans were employed by the Indians of the Great West ;
we have an account of the visit of a Taensas chief on the banks of the
Lower Mississippi to Le Sieur de La Salle in 1682: 'The Chief conde-
scended to visit La Salle at his camp ; a favour which he would by no
means have granted, had the visitors been Indians. A master of cere-
monies and six attendants preceded him, to clear the path and prepare
the place of meeting. When all was ready, he was seen advancing
clothed in a white robe, and preceded by two men bearing white fans,

while a third displayed a disc of burnished copper, doubtless to represent

7Wo small 'Palm Farts. We^tJi/^-taL.. CvCKajze Foil. ^itA-injor-^Con^.

FYy WAisb, 7aAiti. Fa^Tv ofEaab-s Feathers. Nm-tLArru-j'Ua^JnJLan,

FANS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

the Sun, his ancestor, or, as others will have it, his elder brother.' 1 It is
safe to assume that these fans were of feathers, and the incident is an
evidence that the use of the fan in high ceremonial was universal, and
common to both East and West.

There still remains the cockade form of fan, found amongst
the West African tribes ; an example appearing in the British Museum
collection, of paper, with primitive painted ornaments in black, red, and
yellow, alternated with inscription ; the fan measuring some twenty
inches in diameter.

A most interesting example of hide appears in the Horniman Museum,
taken from the king's palace at Benin in 1897. This, doubtless, from
its size and the cumbrous nature of its material, as well as the foregoing
example, was waved by the attendants of some
highly placed personage, probably the king.

The square or oblong flag-fan is made by
the natives of the Niger settlements of West
Africa. An example in the Victoria and Albert
Museum is of plaited grass with strips of the
natural shades of brown and yellow, and others
stained red and black ; the handle is covered
with reddish-brown leather, fringed along the side
of the leaf, the fan edged with the same material.

The appearance of similar decorative motifs
in countries widely separate opens up an in-
teresting field of speculation. Some explanation,
however, of the fact of the cockade (though in
itself, together with the flag form, a simple device)
appearing among the West African tribes, may
be found in the fact that the natives of the interior of West Africa were

1 Francis Parkman, La SalU and the Discovery of the Great West.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

long exposed to the influence of the Mohammedan culture of the Western
Sudan ; the races were to some extent intermingled, and a close commercial
relationship has been maintained during a long period.

Fly -whisks are obviously articles of necessity throughout the
countries of the Torrid Zone.1 These are formed either of feathers, of
vegetable fibre, of the hair of the larger animals, of hempen string, or
other materials.

These instruments occasionally acquire a sacred significance ; Blondel
affirms that they were common in Peru and Mexico before the Spanish
conquest, and, together with the fan, were used also as a symbol of
authority, the handles being adorned with the precious stone ' theoatz-
ehuaquetzalli.'

A species of fly-whisk, formed of dried grass, is used as a war
fetish by the natives of the Gold Coast ; in some instances an iron
bell is attached, carried and rung by the magician in front of the
warriors. Sticks and also fan handles bound with feathers are used as
propitiatory offerings to the gods by the natives of the South-Eastern
Pacific. (Page 81, Nos. 9, 10.)

In the Hawaiian Islands feather wands (Kahili) are carried as a symbol
of rank ; these appear to have been originally fly-whisks, and are formed of
the tail feathers of various birds. Six examples are included in the
British Museum collection, the handles formed of ivory alternated with
horn, the extremity of the handle being formed of the bone of an
enemy.

A long fly-whisk from Hawaii appears in the same collection, formed
of the neck feathers of the cock, of varying colours, white, orange, and
brown, with black tip ; the handle of wood, bound round with black and
buff cane.

1 Miss Kingsley refers to their use at Egaja, ' for the purpose of battling with the evening cloud of
sand-flies.'

FANS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES

The most primitive form of fly-whisk is that from the Andaman
Islands in the Bay of Bengal, made of grass fibre, bound to a
stick, and resembling a rough besom.

Vegetable fibre of various kinds would appear, indeed, J
to be the material most commonly employed for these articles,
being, doubtless, the readiest substance to hand. A remark-
able series of fly-whisks from Tahiti, formed of fibre, were
presented to the British Museum by Sir W. C. Trevelyan,
Bart. ; in these, the handles (of wood) are finely plaited half-
way with fibre of two colours, the rest of the handle of a spiral
form, the head carved to a fantastic shape.

An interesting fly-whisk from the Tonga Islands is formed
of cocoa-nut fibre, finely plaited at its junction with the
wooden handle ; small turquoise, black, and white beads, are
affixed to the plaited portion, these forming an
extremely effective contrast to the rich red brown
of the fibre. In Samoa, enormous fly-whisks are formed
of this material, sometimes affixed to a handle of wood, and
|v> occasionally bound round with the same material to form
the handle. (Page 81, Nos. u, 12.)

A curious fly-whisk from Tahiti is of twisted fibre, the
handle being formed of two birds' wing-bones bound
together, with a portion of plaited fibre in two colours form-
ing the extremity of the stem at its junction with the
whisk.

The Matabeles employ fly-whisks of horse-hair, both
white and black. An example of white horse-hair bound
with brass, fixed in a handle of cane, and also one of black
hair, with the handle formed of plaited brass wire, are to
be seen in the British Museum.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

A similar fly-whisk of black horse-hair is in the same collection ; the
handle of steel wire, bound round a double
leather thong, the extremity forming a loop
ornamented by blue glass beads. These are
used by the elders (Elmoru) of the East
African Protectorate.

Black horse-hair forms the material of
fly-whisks used by the natives of the Upper
Nile. In the example illustrated the hair
is set in an open-shaped piece of leather,
with a long bone handle.

In Abyssinia, also, fly-whisks formed
of the tails of the smaller animals are
employed. An example occurs in the India
Museum, the hair dyed red and yellow, the
handle of silver parcel-gilt.
Probably the most curious of all fans and fan-like objects in use
among primitive peoples is the so-called Ghost Fan of South Celebes
(Malay Archipelago). This mysterious object consists of a triangular
arrangement at the end of a stick, of fine spun red stuff embellished with
a bordering of gold tinsel, together with spangles or hanging ornaments
along its lower edge. Around the stick is tightly twisted a piece of paper,
probably containing an incantation. An example occurs in the Ethnological
Museum, Berlin, referred to and illustrated in Der Fdcher, Georg Buss.
(See p. 1 06.)

■i

CHAPTER V

THE FLABELLUM AND EARLY FEATHER-FAN

THE Christian Church was quick to perceive the utility
of the fan as an instrument of religious ceremonial,
imparting to this object a mysterious importance, a
sacerdotal distinction, preserving and shielding it
from common use ; it has even been claimed that
this appropriation was instituted by the Apostles
themselves, Bishop Suarez attempting to substantiate
this by an appeal to an apocryphal liturgy attributed
to St. James.

The earliest recognised notice, however, of the
fiabellum as a liturgical ornament is in the Apostolical
Constitutions, which direct that after the oblation,
before and during the prayer of consecration, two
deacons are to stand, one on either side of the altar,
holding a fan made of thin membrane (parchment), or
of peacocks' feathers, or of fine linen, and quietly drive away the flies
and other small insects, that they may not stick against the vessels;
this use of the fiabellum being derived, not from the ritual of the
synagogue of the Jews, but from that of the Pagan temples. Butler
{Ancient Coptic Churches of Egypt) quotes a similar rubric from the liturgy
of St. Clement. The same author refers also to flabella waved by the
deacons in the Syrian Jacobite, and probably also in the Coptic, rite for
the ordination of a priest at laying on of hands — they appeared at solemn

ANGEL WAVING A

FLABELLUM

(From the Book of Kells.)

HISTORY OF THE FAN

festivals and at regular celebrations of mass.1 On Good Friday, also, they
were used at the consecrations of Chrism — seven deacons holding flabella,
walking on either side of the holy oil when carried in procession.

Many evidences of its early adoption by the Latin Church are extant.
Moschus [Prat. Spirit uale, § 150) cites an occurrence showing its employment
in the time of Pope Agapetus, a.d. 535, in which a
deacon, who had falsely accused his bishop, was re-
moved from the altar when he was holding the fan
in the presence of the Pope, because he hindered the
descent of the Holy Spirit on the gifts. This same
author {Prat. Spiritnale, § 196), in narrating how some
shepherd boys near Apamea were imitating the
celebration of the Eucharist in childish sport, is careful
to mention that two of the children stood on either
side of the celebrant, vibrating their handkerchiefs like
fans,2 thus showing that the use of the flabellum was
general even at this early period. In a letter of
St. Hildebert, Archbishop of Tours, c. 1098, accompany-
ing the present of a flabellum made to a friend, its
use and mystic import are explained — the flies,
representing the temptations of the devil, are to be
driven away by the Catholic faith.

Gradually the waving of the flabellum acquired
a deeper symbolic meaning — it was held to signify
the wafting of divine influence upon the ceremony,
the movements to and fro symbolising the quivering
of the wings of the Seraphim ; hence we find repre-

(From Buller.) ° r ' r

1 In the liturgy of St. Chrysostom, after the Eenedictus — ' Supra sancta ventilet reverenter flabello.
Si desit flabellum, velo idem praestat.' (Divina Afissa S. Joan. Chrysostomi, Goar. Ritual' Graecorum.
p. 76.)

5 Smith, Dictionary of Christian Antiquities.

<w>

<t?

<S>

SILVER PROCESSIONAL
FLABELLUM

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

sentatives of the Seraphim playing an important part in its ornamentation.
In the Book of Kells we have a representation of the four evangelists in
which the Seraphic symbol of St. Matthew is figured by the crossed flabella,
each having a pair of bells with triple hammers; the remaining three
evangelists being represented by the usual symbols of the Lion in the
centre, and the Bull and Eagle at the lower corners.

Germanus (Neale, Eastern Church, p. 396) goes even further, and
holds that the vibration of the nabellum typifies the tremor and astonish-
ment of the angels at our Lord's Passion.

In a Byzantine fresco at Nekrdsi (Caucasus), of a date uncertain but some-
what late, an open sanctuary is represented with two angelic winged deacons
waving seraphic flabella around the head of the second person of the Trinity.

We have, then, in these flabella, two distinct
types — the one composed of some yielding material
such as vellum or peacocks' feathers, the handles
usually of ivory ; the other rigid, and formed of
metal, either silver or silver gilt, this latter being
essentially a processional fan ; both being used in
ceremonial processions and celebrations of the
mass.

Metal flabella also divide themselves into two
classes — the large-handled processional fan, and
the short hand-fan ; an example of the latter is
given from Butler, and consists of a circular disc
of metal decorated with two rude figures of the
Seraphim interspersed with Romanesque ornament. C0PTIC ,

Actual specimens of ancient flabella are almost non-existent, although

a few have been preserved on the Continent ; one of the most famous

being that of the abbey church of Tournus, on the Sa6ne, south of

Chalon, at present in the Carrand collection, Museo Nazionale, Florence.
m 89

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This remarkable example, which may be taken as a characteristic type, is
formed of a strip of vellum folded a la cocarde, painted on both sides with
figures of St. Philibert and other saints divided by conventional trees.
The outer borders consist of a continuous scroll of Romanesque ornament
interspersed with figures of animals. Latin hexameters and pentameters
are inscribed on the three concentric borders of the fan, as follows : —

>J< FLAMINIS HOC DONUM, REGNATOR SUMME POLORUM,
OBLATUM PURO PECTORE SUME LIBENS.
VIRGO PARENS XPI VOTO CELEBRARIS EODEM,
HIC COLERIS PARITER, TU FILIBERTE SACER.

>$< SUNT DUO QUAE MODICUM CONFERT ESTATE FLABELLUM ;
INFESTAS ABIGIT MUSCAS ET MITIGAT AESTUS,
ET SINE DAT TEDIO GUSTARE MUNUS CIBORUM.
PROPTEREA CALIDUM QUI VULT TRANSIRE PER ANNUM,
ET TUTUS CUPIT AB ATRIS EXISTERE MUSCIS,
OMNI SE STUDEAT AESTATE MUNIRE FLABELLO.

>J< HOC DECUS EXIMIUM PULCHRO MODERAMINE GESTUM,
CONDECET IN SACRO SEMPER ADESSE LOCO;
NAMQUE SUO VOLUCRES INFESTAS FLAMINE PELLIT,

ET STRICTIM MOTUS LONGIUS IRE FACIT.
HOC QUOQUE FLABELLUM TRANQUILLAS EXCITAT AURAS,
,ESTUS DUM SEVIT VENTUM FACIT ATQUE SERENUM,
FUGAT ET OBSCENAS IMPORTUNASQUE VOLUCRES.

The handle is formed of four cylinders of white bone, two being

ornamented with semi-naturalistic vine foliage running spirally round the

stem, the two lower fluted. These cylinders are united by nodes or

pommels, tinted green ; on the middle node the inscription michel ■ m •,

on the upper >J< iohel me scae fecit in honore mariae. The stem is

surmounted by a capital with four figures of saints, whose names appear

on the node immediately beneath : s • maria • s • agn • s • filib • s • pet.

On the capital rests the guard or box which receives the flabellum when

closed ; the four sides are of elaborately carved white bone with green-tinted

borders ; the front and back panels, betraying evidence of a different hand,

The Pla&clltun ^7ourm^f.lKc^^f.

*A*Uls*c A*rx lon-al* , Fit

Photo fy Alimari.

or-ervcc.

'iwsr-

Photo by Aiinari.

SM.

^^^>

s:^r

^ ^%v;;

«^

•7

«fc<

I.: £6

£jSj£2J55$.

KA?

£5-:

*V *

.»> ~ --1

-<\v

.«*•

TkeFlabelluTn of Toutvzils, J^t-a^L.

Ai*i*rct? Na^zi-oruxjlc ,7Utrr£.n^e,

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

are now in the Musde de Cluny, Paris, and consist of arabesques of foliage
with figures, birds, animals, etc., modelled with great spirit. The two lateral
panels or faces form the richest portion of the fan, and are carved with six
subjects from the Eclogues of Virgil. Three seated senators with other
figures, two shepherds with oxen ; three shepherds, two of whom are playing
pipes, some sheep in the foreground ; a seated shepherd blowing a horn ;
another shepherd with oxen and goats ; a shepherd and satyr with dog and
goats ; and a seated shepherd with two oxen.

The modelling is somewhat rude and archaic, but extremely rich in
decorative effect. One edge of the fan is fixed in the box, the other is
attached to one of the lateral panels, which, in order to open the fan, is
drawn over and attached to the reversed side by means of a cord.

Both sides are figured in colours in Du Sommerard's work Les Arts
du Moyen Age.

Of other flabella which exist, one is preserved in the Dominican
Monastery of Prouille, in the diocese of Toulouse ; another, with a handle
of silver, was formerly at St. Victor, near Marseilles.

In the British Museum is a portion of an ivory handle of a flabellum,
French, of the twelfth century, about twelve inches in length, finely carved
with figures of the twelve Apostles and emblems of the Evangelists. In the
Victoria and Albert Museum is a similar fragment, but smaller, carved with
compartments of animals, mythical beasts, monsters, etc. ; these probably
formed the two divisions of one single flabellum. These handles were
sometimes square-shaped, as in the instance of the fragment in the Salting
collection at present in the Victoria and Albert Museum. This is also
French, of the fourteenth century, and is carved on each of its sides with
figures of saints in niches, with crocketed arches.

A portion of the cylindrical stem of a flabellum or aspergillum,
probably French of the twelfth century, is in the British Museum. This
represents the occupations of the twelve months of the year in three bands,

HISTORY OF THE FAN

as follows : January, a two-headed Janus looking in opposite directions ;
February, a figure seated before a fire ; March, cutting trees with a hatchet ;
April, gathering blossoms ; May, an equestrian figure with hawk ; June, a
mower with sickle and hooked stick ; July, a mower with scythe ; August,
a reaper with sickle ; September, thrashing wheat ; October, sowing corn ;
November, killing a pig; December, pouring wine into a cask.

The figures are separated from each other by trees, and the three bands
by rings ornamented with foliage and zigzag patterns with semi-rosettes,
and at top and bottom are rings with half-defaced inscriptions.

There is also in the same collection a capital of morse ivory for the
handle of a flabellum, North German, twelfth century.

These instruments figure repeatedly in inventories of church and
abbey property. Butler quotes from one at St. Riquier, near Abbeville, in
831, 'a silver fan for chasing flies from the sacrifice.' At Amiens, in 1250,
there existed a fan for a similar purpose, ' flabellum factum de serico et auro
ad repellendas muscas et immunda.' In 1363 La Sainte Chapelle possessed
'duo flabella vulgariter nuncupata muscalia, ornata perlis'; in 1376, ' ij
flabella, Gallice esmouchoirs, ornata de perlis.'

In the sacrist rolls of Ely, ' Item, j flabello empt. ad Aurifabrum, yd.
Item, in pari flabellorum pro le Colpeyt empt. 6d.'

A Salisbury inventory mentions two fans of vellum or other material.1
The Chapel of St. Faith in the crypt of old St. Paul's possessed, in 1298, a
muscatorium or fly-whip of peacocks' feathers.2 There is record of a gift to
York Minster, between the years 1393 and 1413, of a silver-gilt handle
for a flabellum.3 In 1346, Hamo, Bishop of Rochester, presented to the
cathedral ' unum flabellum de serico cum virga eburnea.'4 In the inventory
of the Chapel of West Exeter, Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds, ' i. muscifugium

1 ' a.d. 1 214, Ornamenta Ecclesie Sarum, inventa in Thesauraria. ij. flabella de serico et pergameno.'

2 Dugdale, History of Si. Paul's.

3 ' Manubrium flabelli argentum deauratum, ex dono Joh. Newton, thesaurarii, cum ymagine Episcopi in
fine enamelyd, pond. v. unc' * ficgistruvi Roff. p. 554.

3
3

. 4 S ..

5i ^ J ^

1 i 1 1 1*3

k ft k

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

de pecock.'1 In the enumeration of the valuable effects of the deceased
Queen Isabella, daughter of Philippe le Bel, and consort of Edward n.,
the following entry appears : ' De Capella, Duo flagella pro muscis fugandis.'2

In England the flabellum was in use even in remote parishes. In the
churchwarden's accounts at Walderswick, Suffolk, in 1493, is an entry of
IVd. for 'a bessume of pekoks fethers.'

Although the flabellum is very rarely represented in illuminated MSS.,
in the Book of Kells we find miniatures of angels waving these instruments ;
in the Gospel of Treves (eighth century) is a conjoined evangelistic, symbolic
figure holding a small flabellum in one hand and a eucharistic lance in the
other. In a Hiberno-Saxon MS. of the eighth century a figure of St.
Matthew is seen holding in his hand a flabellum. In the public library at
Rouen are two representations of the use of this instrument ; in the one, a
thirteenth-century missal, formerly belonging to the abbey of Jumieges,
the fan is held by the deacon in front of the altar at which the priest
officiates ; in the other, it is waved over
the head of the priest as he elevates
the wafer : this in a pontifical of the
church of Rheims, thirteenth century.

A psalter in Greek, British Museum,
additional MSS. 19,352, gives a miniature
of an angel waving a large flabellum
over the head of David who is asleep ;
another instance occurs in a thirteenth-
century Service-Book in the Barberini
Library, given by Paciandi.3

Representations in printed books
are still more rare. In Barclay's Ship of Fools of the World, 1509,

FROM A GREEK PSALTER. (British Museum.)

1 Journal of the Aniueofogical Association, vol. xxvi. * Archozoiogical Journal, vol. v.

3 Pauli Paciandi de Umbellae Gestatione Commentarius, Romae, 1752, P- lxiii.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

we find, however, a woodcut illustration of a spectacled bibliophile wearing

cap and bells, seated among his books, holding in his hand a flabellum

of feathers, saying :

' Attamen in magno per mc servantur honore :
Pulueris et cariem, plumatis tergo flabellis.'1

the word Jlabe/lis being here applied to the ordinary hand-brush or duster.

By the end of the sixteenth century the flabellum had fallen into

complete disuse, its original purpose having been

long abandoned or forgotten, although as late as 1688

Randle Holmes, Academy of Armory, refers to ' the

flap or fann to drive away flies from the chalice.'

Its sole reminiscence in the west is in the large

flabella of peacocks' feathers carried at solemn festivals

in procession before the Pope. In the Greek Church,

the fan is still delivered to the deacon at ordination

as the symbol of his sacred office.

|^ From the period of the final break up of the Roman

Empire to that of the Crusades the general use of the

fan was discontinued in Europe, and was probably only

adopted by highly placed personages ; during these early

periods, however, it was still the religious fly-flap or

flabellum, (Tdmouchoir, and Blondel infers from the

circumstance of Etienne Boileau not referring to it in

his Livre des Mcstiers (1200), that even at this time it

no longer served any domestic purpose except in very

rare instances.

The earliest English reference to the fan appears to be the following : —

' In the thirtieth year of King Edward 1., precept was given to Nicholas

1 ' But yet I have them in great reverence

And honour, saving them from filth and ordure
By often brusshyng and moche dylygence.'

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

Pycot, Chamberlain, of the Guildhall of London that he should cause
to be sold all pledges for any debt whatsoever then in his custody.

' In an inventory of pledges sold for arrears on the King's Tallage, 31
Edward 1., 1303. One fan (value not stated) taken from Henry Gyleberd
of the ward of Basseshawe for 2s. 8d., which he owes of arrears of the
fifteenth.' '

The oldest existing Christian fan, and the most famous of the few
fans of which we have any record during the Middle Ages, is that which
has become identified with Theodolinda, Queen of the Lombards, the
saintly princess, who possessed a nail of the holy cross which was
ultimately used as a setting to the Iron Crown of the kings of Lombardy.
This fan is preserved as a sacred relic in the Cathedral of Monza near
Milan. Superstition has invested it with magical powers. Pilgrimages
are made to Monza by village maidens, often from a long distance, on
a certain day of the year, as the act of touching it is believed to facili-
tate and promote their marriage projects. It is of the cockade shape,
formed of vellum, of the beautiful purple hue we find in contemporary
manuscripts ; it is decorated with an alternating diaper of Romanesque
ornament in gold and silver, and round its outer border on either side is
the following inscription in Latin hexameters, which is given by Mr. W.
Burges, Archceological Journal, vol. xiv., on the one side :

>J< ' Ut sis conspectu praeclara et cara venusta,

Hac rogo defendens solem requiesce sub umbra,
Has soror obtutu depictas arte figuras
Praelegeris flavido ut decoreris casta colore.'

and on the reverse, now much obliterated :

' Pulchrior ut facie dulcis videaris amica
. . . fervores solis . . .
Me retinere manu Ulfeda (?) poscente memento
. . . splendoris . . .'

1 Memorials of London and London Life in the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Centuries, by
Henry Thomas Riley.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Mr. Burges has pointed out that the form of the letters of the inscription,
which are Roman with slight Rustic variations, as also the purple dye,
are sufficiently similar to contemporary manuscripts of St. Augustine of
the end of the sixth century.

-€3=>«

5=3

THE MONZA FLABELLUM. Details.

The case which accompanies the fan is constructed on the same

principle as the handle of the Tournus flabellum, although less elongated.

It is of wood, covered with silver, the wooden part probably modern, made

to the original shape, with the old silver used again. The length of the

case with handle is 15^ inches, the diameter of the leaf 10 inches.

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

The side flap was originally fastened to the fan, and drawn round
until it formed a complete circle, as in the instance of the Tournus
flabellum.

With respect to the identity of the original owner of this fan, although
the claim which has been made for its association with Queen
Theodolinda cannot be substantiated, its identification with any well-
defined personage is equally difficult. Who was Ulfeda? Mr. Burges
states with reference to this name that it is by no means the most legible
part of the inscription — that he has been able to discover no one so
named who lived during this period.

M. de Linas points out that the name Ulfeda is a variant of the Saxon
Elpheid, which the marvellous cloisonne- fibula, exhumed, as is said, from
a Carlovingian sepulchre at Wittislingen (Bavaria), gives under the softened
form of Ufeila.

This Monza fan is not mentioned in an inventory of the treasury in
1275; in that of 1353 the following, however, occurs :

' Item, fabella, seu orata una argenti facta ad modum unius maze cum manica
ligni ligata in argento.'

M. de Linas infers from the fact of the extremity of the handles being

provided with a ring, that it was not a liturgic fan, and certainly this

circumstance, together with the smallness of its size, would appear to be

a sufficient evidence of its secular use ; in any event, and whatever its

original use, this fan, together with that of Tournus, must be accounted

among the most precious relics preserved to us from that dim and dark,

but extremely fascinating period.

The rigid flag-fan, which appears to have been in intermittent use

in Europe from the early centuries of our era, consists of an oblong

parallelogram with a handle fitted to one of its longer sides. These were

made either of plaited straw of various colours, of linen painted and
n 97

HISTORY OF THE FAN

embroidered, of parchment or vellum, or of silk, woven or embroidered,
often with lozenge-shaped diapering.

The earliest examples remaining to us are Coptic or Saracenic. M.
Robert Forrer in his Reallexikon figures two which were obtained from
the cemetery of Akhmin, the Greek Panopolis, presumably belonging to the
fourth-sixth century. Of these, one is finely plaited of brown, red, and
black straw, with a representation of four hearts encircling a cross, the
other of a reticulated diapered pattern with a border of linen. A similar
flag-fan of plaited straw appears in the Berlin Museum : this example, also,
is probably Coptic.

M. Charles de Linas, quoting from the life of St. Fulgentius, sixth
century, affirms that the Bishop of Ruspa, whilst he was a monk and even
an abbot, occupied his leisure hours in copying Holy Writ
or in plaiting ' fly-flaps ' of palm leaves. This same author '
figures a flag-fan from an engraved glass vase, exhumed from
the catacombs, and now preserved in the library of the Vatican,
representing the Virgin Mother seated with the infant Saviour
on her lap, a deacon behind agitating a rectangular flabellum
fixed in a lateral handle. The zigzag ornamentation indicates
that this, also, was formed of plaited straw.

In the Observances of the Augustinian Priory at Barnwell,
Cambridge, ' The Fraterer ought to provide mats and rushes
to strew the Frater and the alleys of the Cloister at the Frater
door, and frequently to renew them ; in summer to throw
flowers, mint, and fennel into the air to make a sweet odour, and to provide
fans.' ' Muscatoria in estate providere.'2

The most remarkable example, however, of this banner form is on
a diptich of ivory offered by Charles the Bald to the abbey of Saint-

1 Men/e de I'Art Chretien, 1883. Les Disques crucileres, le Flabellum, et l'umbella.
- Harl. MSS. 3601, the date 1295-6, edited by J. W. Clark.

&/vtU~ Fh*w, ALL*

E~thr^oLoo^^L A4u^C4^m,, ~F$ t,r Li?\..

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

Corneille de Compiegne, and at present in the Cabinet de Mddailles at
Paris. On the inferior compartment of the diptich is a eunuch (?) holding
with both hands a flabellum apparently of metal,
the handle long, thick at the end, and engraved
with lines representing masonry ; the top in the
form of a turret, from which hangs a cord. The
leaf, in all probability embroidered, has a plain
broad border enclosing a laurel wreath.

The banner form of fan became fashionable
with the Venetian women of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries. These were of two kinds :
the one, of a more ornate character, was used by
matrons ; the other, abanico di novia, of a delicate
whiteness, used only by engaged maidens or the
newly married. An example of the latter occurs
in the portrait of the painter's daughter Lavinia,
by Titian, in the Dresden Gallery, probably
painted in 1555. Titian painted this favourite
daughter some eighteen years later ; in this portrait
she carries a feather-fan, the sign of Venetian nobility, Titian having
been, in the interval, created a Count Palatine by the Emperor
Charles v.

Authentic examples of these flag-fans are exceedingly rare. A richly
embroidered Venetian fan of the sixteenth century is in the collection of
the Grand Duke Frederick of Baden ; another, also Italian, has a large oval
medallion with ornaments of silver and brown, and is in the collection of
Mr. G. J. Rosenberg of Karlsruhe ; a third, abanico di novia, of white
vellum enriched with Venetian lace of the sixteenth century, is referred to by
Blondel as being in the possession of Madame Achille Jubinal of Paris.

These fans were probably introduced into the western countries of

FROM AN IVORY DIPTICH.
(Cabinet de Medailles, Paris.)

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Europe by the returning Crusaders. They never, apparently, obtained any
great vogue except in Italy; they continued, however, in intermittent use
until the close of the sixteenth century, when, together with feather, tuft,
and cockade fans, they gradually gave place to the modern folding-fan
which had by this time made its appearance in Portugal from the Far
East.

From the fourteenth century onwards, the history of the fan becomes
more clear, and Blondel quotes a number of French inventories in which the
fan figures — that of the Comptesse Mahaut d'Artois (1316), an dmouchoir
with silver handle ; of Queen Cldmence (1328), an dmouchoir of silk brocade ;
and also in the will or testament of Queen Johanne of Evreux (1372), a
jewelled dmouchoir costing five golden francs. l

The cockade form, a la cocarde, has been in use during all periods
subsequent to its first introduction from the East in the early centuries of
our era. We have already referred at some length to the cockade flabella at
Tournus and Monza. In an inventory of Charles v. of France, 1380, we read
of ' un esmouchouer rond, qui se ploye, en yvoire, aux armes de France et de
Navarre, a un manche d'ybenus.'2

During the fourteenth century, the long-handled fiabellum was also in
use, waved by attendants as at Thebes and Rome. In the inventory above
quoted (Charles v.) occurs — 'Trois bannieres, ou esmouchoers, de cuir
ouvrtf, dont les deux ont les manches d'argent dorez.' ' Deux bannieres de
France, pour esmoucher le Roy quand il est a Table, semees de fleurs de
lys broddes de perles.'3

The feather-fan, also, was in use during this reign, as we learn from
a curious entry in a letter of the Queen— alluding to a criminal prose-
cution against some manufacturer of spurious coin — ' Le suppliant trouva

1 Un esmouchior de drap d'or, a fleur-de-lys, escartele des armes de France et de Navarre a un baston
d'yvoire et de geste, pris£ v Francs d'or. — Du Cange.

* Viollet-le-Duc. s Blondel.

IOO

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

d'aventure un esventour de plumes, duquel il esceuta le feu — ou Ton faisoit

la ditte fausse monnoye.' '

The feather and tuft fans in use from the twelfth to the sixteenth

centuries and later were formed of the plumes of the peacock, the ostrich,

and the paroquet, dyed various colours : the number of the feathers varied

from three to twenty or more, and were arranged so as to imbricate the plumes

in the gradation of their natural growth. These were set in handles of

carved ivory and the more precious metals, generally silver, and were often

richly jewelled, and suspended from the girdle by a slender chain. Of their

cost we have a hint in Marston's satires :

' How can she keepe a lazie serving-man
And buy a hoode and silver-handled fan
With fortie pound ? '

Silver was probably the material of the handle of Mistress Bridget's fan
in the theft of which Falstaff and his Ancient were implicated.

Falstaff. And when Mistress Bridget

Lost the handle of her fan, I took 't upon

Mine honour thou hadst it not.
Pistol. Didst thou not share ? hadst thou not fifteen pence ?

References to the silver-handled fan occur commonly in old plays :

' She hath a fan with a short silver handle,
About the length of a barber's syringe.'

The Floire, 1610.

' All your plate, Vasco, is the silver handle of
Your old prisoner's fan.'

Love and Honour, Sir W. Davenant, 1649.

' Another he
Her silver handled fan would gladly be.'

In Marston, Scourge of Villainie, lib. 111. sat. 8.

The above references are to fans of the ordinary sort ; the cost of the
more precious fans of history was considerable. Brant&me (c. 1590) refers

Henry F. Holt, Journal of the Archaologual Association, vol. xxvi. (1870).

IOI

HISTORY OF THE FAN

to the fan of Queen Eleanor with its mirror all ornamented with precious
stones of great value, and also to the new-year's gift of Queen Margaret to
Queen Louise of Lorraine — a jewelled fan of mother of pearl of such beauty
and richness that it was valued at more than fifteen hundred crowns,1 a sum
equal to a thousand pounds of our present money.

The employment of the fan as fire-screen is indicated by the new-year's
gift to Queen Mary of England in 1556, when she received 'seven fannes to
kepe the heate of the fyer, of strawe, the one of white silke.'

Queen Elizabeth's partiality for fans is historic, and it is upon record
that she regarded a fan as a suitable gift for a queen.

Leicester's new-year's gift in 1574 is recorded : 'A fan of white feathers
set in a handle of gold, garnished on one side with two very fair emeralds,
and fully garnished with diamonds and rubies ; the other side garnished
with rubies and diamonds, and on each side a white bear [his cognisance]
and two pearls hanging, a lion ramping with a white muzzled bear at
his foot.'

Among the new-year's gifts, 1588-9: —

' By the Countess of Bath, a fanne of Swanne downe, with a maze of
gilene velvet, ymbrodered with seed pearles and a very small chayne of
silver gilte, and in the middest a border on both sides of seed pearles,
sparks of rubyes and emerods, and thereon a monster of gold, the head
and breast mother of pearles.

' By a Gentleman unknown, a fanne of sundry collored fethers, with
a handle of aggets garnished with silver gilte.'

In 1589, 'a fanne of ffethers, white and redd, the handle of golde,
inameled with a halfe moone of mother of perles, within that a halfe moon
garnished with sparks of dyamonds, and a fewe seede perles on th' one side,

1 Elle donna a la reyne Louise de Lorraine une fois pour ses estreines ung esventail faict de nacre de
perles, enrichy de pierreries et grosses perles, si beau et si riche, qu'on disoit estre un chef d'ceuvre, et
l'estimoit on a plus de quinze cens escus. — Pierre de Bourdeilles, Seigneur de Brantome, M'emoires des
dames illustrces de France.

I02

FetLtAer Hondas c r aen. , QvLeenAruie. AFZ-CJiM **,*/.

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

having her majestie's picture within it : and on the back-side a device with

a crowe over it.'

' Geven by Sir Frauncis Drake.'

In 1599:—

' By Mrs. Wingfeilde, mother of the maydes, four ruffes of lawne and
a fanne.'

From a letter of Rowland Whyte to Sir Robert Sydney, December 13,
1595, we learn that 'upon Thursday she dined at Kew, my lord keeper's
(Sir John Packering) house (who lately obtained of her majestie his sute for
£100 a yeare land in fee farm). His intertainment for that meale was great
and exceeding costly. At her first lighting, she had a fine fanne, with a
handle garnished with diamonds.'

It is also recorded that upon her visit to Hawsted Hall, the seat of Sir
Thomas Cullum, she dropped a silver-handled fan into the moat.1

In the year 1600, a commission was issued to the Lord High Treasurer,
the Lord Chamberlain, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the Treasurer
of Her Highness's Chamber, to examine and take a perfect survey of all
' robes, garments, and jewels,' as well within the Court as at the Tower and
Whitehall. In this, no less than twenty-seven fans appear. The following
are enumerated : —

Item, one fanne of white feathers, with a handle of golde, havinge two snakes
wyndinge aboute it, garnished with a ball of diamondes in the ende, and a crowne on
each side within a paire of winges garnished with diamondes, lackinge 6 diamondes.

Item, one fanne of feather of divers colours, the handle of golde, with a bare and
a ragged staffe on both sides, and a lookinge glass on thone side.

Item, one handle of golde enamelled, set with small rubies and emerodes, lackinge
9 stones, with a shipp under saile on thone side.

Item, one handle of christall, garnished with sylver guilte, with a worde within
the handle.

Item, one handle of elitropia (q), garnished with golde, set with sparks of
diamondes, rubies, and sixe small pearls, lackinge one diamonde.

1 Sir John Cullam, Bart., History of Hawsted.
IO3

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The feather-fan appears in the following portraits of Queen Elizabeth,
painted and engraved : —

Jesus College : white feather-fan with jewelled handle.

The Newcome picture, now in the National Portrait Gallery : part
of a feather-fan, the portrait being three-quarter length.

Welbeck : a small feather-fan hanging from girdle.

The engraving by Johann Rutlinger : a large feather-fan, the handle of
elaborate design set with jewels. Also pictures at Cobham ; Woburn
Abbey ; Charlecote Park ; Christ Church, Oxford ; Penshurst ; Powerscourt,
and other places.

The folding-fan was not introduced into this country until the latter
part of the queen's reign ; in the following pictures it appears : —

Jesus College, half length, 1590.

The Ditchley portrait, whole length, 1592 ; fan attached to the girdle
and held in right hand.

Bodleian Library, portrait attributed to F. Zucharo.

To enumerate the different portraits, painted and engraved, in which
the feather-fan appears, would be an impossible task ; sufficient has been
said to indicate the various forms these articles assumed. Reference may,
however, be made to the feather -fan appearing in Renold Elstracke's
engraving of Anne of Denmark (queen of James 1) ; this consisting of
three large ostrich plumes set in a jewelled handle. To the same engraver's
portrait of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of King James, a similar
feather-fan. Also on a monumental brass, illustrated in Lipscomb's
Buckinghamshire, vol. iii. 291, the wife of John Pen, Esquire, 1641,
appears with an ostrich feather-fan hung from her girdle. In a portrait
attributed to Sebastian del Piombo at Frankfurt is an extremely ornate
feather-fan with a silver handle.

We also obtain an excellent idea of the form these feather-fans assumed

in Italy in the fifteenth century from the engraved design for a hand-screen

104

THE FLABELLUM & EARLY FEATHER-FAN

by Agostino Carracci (illustrated facing p. 204). This consists of an

admirably designed cartouche enclosing a subject of a satyr and nymphs

bathing ; above is a bust of Diana enclosed in a second cartouche, at the

top of which is a head and wings of a Cupid ; the whole is surmounted by

a tuft of ostrich feathers. On the same plate are three other medallions,

Neptune and Minerva, a head of Mars, and the Graces, these latter either

intended as alternative subjects or for introduction at the back of the fan.

The engraving is signed 'Agust. Carazza Inv. e fe.'

The feather-fan was used by both sexes, as we learn from Bishop Hall,

describing a fashionable gallant :

' When a plum'd fan may shade thy chalked face,
And lawny strips thy naked bosom grace.'

An ostrich-plume folded fan is given in a miniature of Mademoiselle
D'Hautefort in the cabinet of M. de la Mdsangere. This consists of ten
sticks each with a single feather attached, dyed alternatively yellow and
blue.

Feather-fans continued in general use until the time of Vandyck and
later, and are in evidence in several portraits by this master ; indeed the use
of the tuft- and feather-fan has never been completely abandoned, the article
having remained in intermittent use even to the present day.

None of these ancient feather-fans exist in their complete form,
from the perishable nature of the ostrich plume, which, in the lapse
of time, crumbles to fragments, and from this circumstance the remark-
able feather hand-screen in the possession of Mr. Messel is of the highest
interest.

A few handles, however, are to be found in the various collections, both

public and private. A pretty ivory handle of a sixteenth-century Italian

feather-fan is in the Salting collection, at present at South Kensington.

This is delicately carved with two half-length female figures issuing

from acanthus-leaved ornament, and holding a festoon of drapery, a
o 105

HISTORY OF THE FAN

mask of Cupid above. Near the handle end are two winged terminal
monsters.

The head of an ivory-fan handle, also Italian of the same period, is in
the South Kensington collection : this has a female terminal (head restored)
and two dolphins forming the top, two masks on either side, with other
terminals and cornucopia;.

GHOST FAN. Malay Archipelago
(Ethnological Museum, Berlin.)

I 06

.3
E

■a

i I

CHAPTER VI

FAN OF FERRARA, OR ' DUCK'S-FOOT'

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

THE establishment of the Portuguese as a
conquering power in the far East dates from
the first expedition of Vasco da Gama in 1497.
Five years earlier, Christopher Columbus had
sailed westward over the Atlantic, bearing a
letter from his royal mistress to the great
Khan of Tartary, seeking India and far
Cathay, and finding instead — America.
The three expeditions of Vasco da Gama, during the first twenty years
of the sixteenth century, together with the operations of Alfonso d'Albu-
querque, resulted in the complete supremacy of Portugal as a trading power
with the East. From Japan and the Spice Islands to the Red Sea and the
Cape of Good Hope, they were the sole masters and dispensers of the
treasures of the East,1 and during the whole of the sixteenth century enjoyed
a complete monopoly of the Oriental trade. As early as 1502, the King of
Portugal obtained from Pope Alexander vi. a bull constituting him ' Lord of
the Navigation, Conquests, and Trade of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia, and India,'
but it was not until 1516 that the Portuguese made their appearance in China,
where, 'at Ningpo, they succeeded in establishing a colony, carrying on a
gainful trade with other parts of China, as well as with Japan.'2 It was thus
that the folding-fan found its way first to Portugal through its traders.

1 Dr. Birdwood, Report on Old Records in the India Office, 1898.

2 Sir John Francis Davis, F.R.S., The Chinese.

IO7

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This introduction of the folding-fan into Europe marks the beginning
of a new era of the fan's history, as, although both Chinese and Japanese
fans possess qualities which are absolutely individual and unique, yet it
must be confessed that the fan, in the hands of European artists, its early
Oriental influence notwithstanding, ultimately developed a character and
style quite its own, and reflecting the artistic conditions of its epoch and
surroundings.

There are, however, considerable grounds for supposing that some form
of the folding-fan, as we now know it, existed in Europe at a period con-
siderably anterior to the Portuguese expedition to the East. Viollet-le-Duc,
Dictionnaire Raisonnd du Mobilier Fmngais, makes a remarkable statement
in connection with some thin metal fragments which were unearthed during
some excavation at the Chateau de Pierre. These fragments, says this dis-
tinguished author, which are very characteristic of a fan constructed like
those of our own times, should be anterior to the siege of 1422, as they were
found in the carbonised debris belonging to that epoch. They are composed
of an alloyed metal, cuivre et argent. The piece B represents one of the
outside flats, and was fixed to a guard of wood or very thin metal, to which
was glued the stuff, or vellum ; the piece A one of the branch pieces or brins.
M. Viollet-le-Duc infers from the fact of the pieces not being pierced at the
handle end, but finished with a cross, that the branches were tied with a
silken cord, which would also be attached to the waist belt ; he points out
the great antiquity of the flabellum (doubtless meaning the cockade form),
and concludes by saying, ' It is difficult to allow that the fan, which is
merely a derivation of it (qui n'en est qu'un ddrive*), was not in use until the
sixteenth century, as several writers have contended.'

M. Viollet-le-Duc's meaning as to the probable construction of this fan

is not so clearly stated as might possibly be desired. We take it that these

pieces were but the ornaments of a folding-fan formed of ivory, wood, or

other material on the modern principle — that the large piece B formed the

1 08

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

shoulder, to be completed by another piece forming the guard proper. How-
ever this may be, and whether these pieces really formed part of a folding-
fan or not, this author, in the concluding portion of his note,
has expressed a truth which it is not possible to gainsay,
viz. that the principle of the folding-fan already existed, in
I J 1^1 the form of the cockade, and that it is only necessary to
divide the cockade in two parts, and to protect the ends with
some firm substance, to arrive at the folded fan as we now
know it. Indeed this was done — fans were carried towards
the close of the sixteenth century which consisted of a
segment of a cockade, inserted in a long handle similar
to that of the plumed fan, thus uniting the characteristics
of both plumed and folded fan. Vecellio, Habiti antichi
et moderni di tutto il mondo, 1590, figures these small
fans, of which two illustrations are given. We are thus
presented with a decorative development which is gradual,
a b reasonable, and complete, a development quite conceivably

independent of any importa-
tion from the East, and of
itself bridging over the gap
that otherwise would have
existed between two appar-
ently opposing types.

Any speculations as to
how this fan of M. Viollet-le-

SMALL RIGID FANS. (From Vecellio.)

Due came to exist would there-
fore be idle ; the type was no new one. We have already referred to the
pleated fan crest, seen on the heads of horses in Phoenician and Persian
monuments.1 A similar fan crest appears on the horse's head in the

1 Fans of the Ancients, p. 27.
IO9

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Brdtigny seal of Edward in., engraved in consequence of the Treaty of
Brdtigny, 1360, by which this monarch renounced the title of King of
France. This appeared again in the seal with the altered legend in which
he resumed the title — the period of its use, 1372-77. This same seal with
fan crest was used successively by Richard 11., Henry iv. (first seal), and
Henry vr. (silver seal), the legend only altered.

A still more remarkable example is the large displayed fan crest (the
earliest authenticated instance of a regular crest),1 in the centre of which
is a lion passant, on the top of the flat helmet of Cceur de Lion (second
seal, 1197-99), used after his return from captivity, and quite possibly,
therefore, borrowed from the East.

The fan-plume or panache appears also on the flat-topped helmet of
Alexander in., King of Scots (second seal); the horse also bearing the
fan-plume.

These fan crests are also seen on the seal of Richard Fitz-Alan,
Earl of Arundel ; of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, 1301 ; and
of Edward of Carnarvon, Prince of Wales, 1305; and on the effigy of
Sir Geoffrey de Luttrel, c. 1340, showing a fan upon which the entire
Luttrel arms are depicted. A large fan crest, having little tufts of
feathers at each division of the fold, appears on the arms of the family

""""'"'' of Schaler, Basle ; another is to be found on the common

seal of the City of London (dated 1539), charged with
the cross of the city arms. ' In course of time this fan,
in the case of London, as in so many instances, has
through ignorance been converted or developed into a
wing, but the "rays" of the fan in this instance are

FEATHER-FA . (Milan.) i . ,, , , , , . . , .

preserved in the "rays of the dragons wing (charged
with a cross) which the crest is now supposed to be.'2

With respect to the origin of these fan crests, we must go back,

1 A. C. Fox-Davies, Complete Guide to Heraldry. 2 Ibid.

IIO

-J

1
a

•3

■I*
I*

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

says Mr. Fox-Davies, to the bed-rock of the peacock popinjay vanity
ingrained in human nature ; the same impulse which nowadays leads to
the decoration of the helmets of the Life Guards with horse-hair plumes
and regimental badges, the cocked-hats of field-marshals and other
officers with wavy plumes. . . . The matter was just a combination of
decoration and vanity.

Notwithstanding the foregoing instances, it is abundantly clear that
the folding-fan, though it may have been in intermittent use during these
early periods, obtained no great vogue in Europe until the sixteenth century,
when it was in general use in Portugal, Spain, and Italy, and that the
prevalence of the fashion was resultant upon the influx of Eastern
manufactures.

The feather-fan, referred to in the last chapter, although regarded
as the sign of nobility, was occasionally carried by the wives of the rich
merchants of Venice. A noble Venetian matron carries a tuft fan with
a mirror in the centre garnished with pearls ; the plumed fan is seen in
the hands of the noble demoiselles of Milan, of married Genoese ladies,
of the noble matrons of Siena, the latter of whom, together with
the ladies of Venice, Perugia, and other cities, also carried the flag-
fan.

The smaller fan, with long thin handle, surmounted with five or
seven feathers set symmetrically, is carried by the Parmese, Ferrarese, and
Florentine ladies, and by the noble matrons of Genoa.

The Milanese ladies carried a fan made apparently of feathers, rigid,

and bound round in five sections. The married ladies of Naples and

Bologna carried rigid screens designed in the form of a cartouche of the

strap-work so usual in sixteenth-century Renaissance ornament. The

later hand-screens, seen in the engravings of Callot and others, were

obviously a development of this form.

The above instances are cited from the engraved work of A. de

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Bruyn,1 in which also appears a long-handled fan of seven feathers carried
by a Turkish lady.

In an earlier work by the same engraver, Imperii ac Sacerdotii
ornatus, 1579, a bishop holds in his left hand the feather fan, in his right
a crozier.

In the art library, Victoria and Albert Museum, are several designs
for feather-fans and handles, by an unknown artist, but certainly Italian,
drawn vigorously with a pen and washed with bistre. In the same col-
lection is a design in pencil for the panache of a folding-fan, in the
Italian manner, displaying great knowledge of Renaissance design.

At the commencement of the seventeenth century, and indeed earlier,
small screens were the fashion, painted either with love scenes, inscribed
with suitable verses, or views of Italian towns, with a short description,
and were sold for a sum equivalent to an English groat.

The English traveller, Thomas Coryat, in his Crudities (1608),
writes : ' These fans both men and women of the country [Italy] do carry
to cool themselves withal in the time of heat, by the often fanning of
their faces. Most of them are very elegant and pretty things, for whereas
the fan consisteth of a painted piece of paper and a little wooden handle,
the paper, which is fastened at the top, is on both sides most curiously
adorned with excellent pictures.' These, probably, are the fans referred
to above as seen in Vecellio and the work of other engravers. Many were
apparently rigid, and probably formed of ivory or similar hard substance ;
the size would be about six inches. They were by no means con-
fined to Italy, but became the vogue in Spain, France, and other
countries.

A long fan, carried by a noble Neapolitan lady, is given by Hefner-
Altenek, in his work on costume. This is apparently rigid, since no sign
of pleating is apparent in the representation, which is, however, small.

1 Omnium pene Europat, Asiae, Aphricae, atque Americae Gentium habitus. Antwerp, 1581.

112

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

The colour is blue with decorations of gold, the figure taken from a
picture in an album in the possession of this author, 1596-1611.

Doubtless one of the earliest forms of the folded fan in Italy was the
so-called ' duck's foot,' used by the ladies of Ferrara ; the leaf, which
opened to a quarter of a circle, was formed of alternate strips of vellum
and mica, with delicately painted ornaments. The stick was of ivory
and consisted of eight narrow blades. Blondel would seem to infer that
this type of fan originated in France, and cites a contemporary portrait
of ' un personnage du Bal sous Henri in.' A fan, evidently the ' duck's
foot,' with a pattern agreeing with the system of mica or other insertion,
appears in an engraved portrait of Louise de Lorraine, queen of Henri in.

This form of fan is, however, probably Italian in its origin ; it is
figured by Vecellio, in the hands of a lady of Ferrara ; it is also seen in
the earlier engraved work of de Bruyn, above referred to.

Legendary accounts of the woes of the unfortunate Torquato Tasso,
who had dared to 'lift his love' to a princess of the house of Este, have
afforded many themes for the imagination of subsequent writers from
Byron and Goethe downwards. The story of the fan of Eleonora d'Este,
which was of the form above described, surmounted with rubies, is a
pretty one, and may be given for what it is worth.

On a day when reading to the princess his Gerusalemme, in which
the episode of Olindo and Sofronia in the second canto was intended as
portraying Tasso's own situation with regard to her, his enraptured
listener, won by the charm of the moment, was on the point of yielding,
when, by a supreme effort, she recalled herself to her sense of duty, hesi-
tated for a moment, grasped her fan, kissed it, flung it at the poet's feet
— and fled.

This association of vellum and mica appears to have been pretty

general for the leaves of the folding-fans upon their first introduction in

the middle of the sixteenth century. There were two different systems :
p 113

HISTORY OF THE FAN

in the one, the decoration consisted of painting on the plain surface of
the mica or vellum, or both, as in the fan of Ferrara, or the Actaeon fan,
described on page 146; and in the other, the leaf is cut to such a degree
of elaboration as almost to rival the finest lace, as in the charming fan
in the Mus£e de Cluny, illustrated.

The system of mica insertion was developed until fans were made
entirely of this material, with painted arabesque decoration similar in
character to that of the Actaeon fan at Cluny, illustrated page 146. An
extremely interesting example is illustrated from the collection of Mr.
L. C. R. Messel. In this, the stick is of plain ivory, perforated on the
panaches, the blades numbering thirteen. The leaf is divided into three
rows of twenty-five panels each, decorated with a medley of arabesques
of children, animals, birds, and flowers, the panels separated by narrow
borders in blue and black.

Of decoupe' fans, no finer example could be given than that from
the Musde de Cluny, the stick of which is composed of ten blades of
bone, the two outer ones extending the whole length of the leaf, the rest
to a little less than half-way across. The leaf, which occupies exactly
three-fourths of the whole length, is of paper cut to an extremely refined
geometrical pattern of circles and lozenges, with small, and even minute
pieces of mica inserted at intervals, imparting a richness and variety to
the fan without destroying its lightness and elegance.

This type of fan appears constantly in the portraits, both painted
and engraved, of the latter half of the sixteenth century. It reached
England, apparently, about 1590, or a little earlier, and is seen in the
portraits of Queen Elizabeth painted about this date.

This art of elaborate perforation (ddcoupd) is essentially Italian in

its origin, and was evidently practised to a considerable extent during the

period we have been considering. In the fan which has become associated

with Mademoiselle Desroches, the utmost degree of elaboration is attained,

114

•5

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

and this example may be accepted as a type of a number of fans pro-
duced during the seventeenth century and later.

It was at a gathering of wits at Poitiers in 1579 that fitienne
Pasquier, perceiving a flea on the neck of Mile. Desroches, exclaimed
that ' la petite bestiole ' deserved to be immortalised. A collection of
poems in Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian, was published in
Paris in 1582, under the title of La Puke de Mademoiselle Desroches,
the most felicitous of these plaisanteries being, according to La Monnaye,
from the pen of the lady herself.

The fan leaf, said to commemorate this event, once in the possession
of the fair Pompadour, and now in the Jubinal collection at Paris, is of
paper, elaborately cut to imitate lace. This leaf — the stick has long since
perished — was exhibited at the great exhibition of fans at South Ken-
sington in 1870. It bears five finely painted miniatures representing the
senses ; in the centre picture (touch) a young man places his finger on the
bosom of a sleeping lady, the spot on the neck presumably representing
'la petite bestiole.'1

The charming fan in the possession of Mr. L. C. R. Messel was
obtained in Florence. The vellum leaf is finely perforated throughout ; the
large centre cartouche and series of small oblong panels are painted with
exquisite minuteness and care. The character of the decoration is that of
the later years of the seventeenth century, the stick of a subsequent date.

The great spirit of the Renaissance had well-nigh exhausted itself
by the time the folded fan had become the vogue in Europe. Michael
Angelo, the last of the Titans, died in 1564, and had lived long enough
to witness the gradual extinction of the school he in great part created.
Pierino del Vaga and Sebastian del Piombo had died seventeen years
earlier.

1 It is extremely improbable that this fan leaf had ever any connection with the story given above.
It probably belongs to the latter years of the seventeenth, or the early years of the eighteenth century

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The eclectic principle, developed to its highest attainable point by
Raphael, Michael Angelo, Leonardo, was carried on by a crowd of men
working on similar lines, but possessing far less knowledge and power,
and what was vital truth in the work of the master was reduced to mere
affectation in the hands of the follower.

During the closing years of the century, Italian art, it is true,
received some sort of impetus as a result of the labours of the Carracci,
but the revival was short-lived, and it remained to Guido, Guercino,
Albani, Maratta, to continue the declension during the seventeenth, to
be followed by Tiepolo and Canaletto in the eighteenth centuries.

It would serve no good purpose to quarrel with the painted folding-
fan on account of its inability to rise to the high ideals of the quattro-
and cinque-cento. It belonged to a less spacious age, and if it descended
to banality, it was because the times had become banal : it was entirely in
tune with its surroundings.

It will be convenient, at this juncture, to describe in detail the
various elements composing this fan-type which has easily distanced all
others in the affections of the fair — a triumph so absolute and complete,
that to ninety-nine women out of every hundred the idea of a fan is an
instrument which may be folded.

The folding-fan, then, is made
up of two principal parts — the stick
(la monture) B B and the leaf or
mount (la feuille) A. The former
consists of a number of blades
{brins) C C C C, which have varied
at different periods, and are folded
between two guards {panaches) D.
The guard is made up of three dimensions : the handle-end (la We) I,
through which passes the pin (rivure) E— this is often jewelled; the

116

A___

ArLEmbarcatum, jtcoL i^orj,. jlLzr- t,iou.t.,

ItalicLn. or Frcn-t-li: crucL & J / - C'CnA^

Al™HamJ.l£,7i. Smytic.

Cupid's I/tYC , CkilcLi Fa-ri.or T^o^LeiiTcL.
ITa.LZa.n- , ea-fly Id - Cent-, 72, £ X OS.

Th^Do^yi^ft-rjVlaj-cAixrmjj of\Bn-itcl.

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

shoulder {gorge) II, reaching to the lower edge of the mount ; and the
guard proper III.

The stick of the richer painted fans is composed of either ivory,
mother of pearl, tortoise-shell, or bone : often carved with great minute-
ness, elaboration, and skill, and further enriched by gilding and inlay,
painted miniatures, enamels, and precious stones ; that of the less elaborate
fan is of wood of various kinds — ebony, rosewood, bamboo, etc. It is
also carved, gilt, inlaid, or lacquered in different ways.

The character of Italian sticks is that of simplicity and reticence,
even to plainness, this being more in keeping with the generally
grave character of the mounts. In a number of instances the brins
present a perfectly flat, plain surface of ivory, relieved only by a little
carving on the panaches. This is ornamented in various ways, the most
characteristic method being that of gold and silver pique. The work is
done by means of a drill, the metal pressed into the spaces.

One of these Italian fans of the end of the seventeenth century, with
plain white stick, is in the Wyatt collection, the skin mount painted with
the Storming of Jerusalem, and the miraculous curing of Godfrey de
Bouillon's wound, the guards pique" with silver.

The beautiful Italian fan, with sea-nymphs upon a sandy shore, once
belonging to the unfortunate Marie-Antoinette, and now in the possession
of Mr. Burdett-Coutts, is an example of the best quality of pique" work.
The stick is of horn of a light transparent golden hue. The panaches
bear the crown and fleur-de-lys of France, and appear to be of somewhat
later date than the brins and feuille, which may be put about 1760. The
fan was acquired in Paris during the troublous times of the Revolution
by the father of the late Rev. J. E. Edwards of Trentham, and exhibited
by the last named at South Kensington in 1870. Upon the death of
Mr. Edwards in 1885 it was purchased by the late Baroness Burdett-
Coutts.

117

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Another method of ornamentation is that of delicate piercing, the
surface of the stick remaining flat and without carving. These pierced
ivory sticks are occasionally alternated with those of another material, as
light golden tortoise-shell, horn, and, in an instance in the Wyatt col-
lection, with a mount of classical landscape and Pompeian ornament,
pierced cedar.

The Italians, as also the Greeks, discovered early the resources offered
to the artist by the material of ivory. Ariosto in his sixth elegy makes a
charming reference to it in addressing his mistress :

' As when ivory or marble wrought by the hand of the artist becomes
unchangeable, so my heart, more inflexible than these, though it may fear the
hand of the assassin, is incapable of receiving the image of any new love to remove
thine which is engraven upon it.'

The richest sticks are either those in which the piercing is associated
with carved panels or cartouches of figures, ornament, etc., with the
ribbed backgrounds familiar to us in Chinese workmanship, or those of
which the whole surface is treated in the most delicate relief, exhibiting
the most consummate skill of handling. This is occasionally further
enriched by gilding, silvering, and painting ; in some instances, these
several processes are associated, with the addition of mother-of-pearl and
tortoise-shell inlay.

Mother-of-pearl is treated in precisely the same way as ivory, i.e.
flat-pierced ; pierced and carved ; pierced, carved, and engraved ; with, in
some instances, the addition of painting, and occasionally tinsel and
silvering or gilding.

The various kinds of mother-of-pearl used in the manufacture of fans

are as follows : — The Burgan or Burgandine pearl obtained from Japan ;

the white pearl, 'poulette,' from Madagascar; a black mother-of-pearl from

the East. The shells being relatively small, it becomes necessary to

piece them together by a system of splicing. This is done so skilfully

118

"Bacchus £ Ariadne. , ^ler Gu^Jc ctS30. ZOxXlti.

/^aa.y JVor,

tUffi.

ThtTriumpk. (f'ScUxJuU . after Arvn-i-i clLc Ca.rrcL*^L. /S?t X I/. Z. ady /VoT-Xh-c-U.//e:

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

that none but a practised eye is able to detect it. For the process of
inlay and incrustation, the splendid Eastern pearl called 'gold fish' is
used. This, upon its introduction, caused a complete revolution in the
' eventail de luxe ' ; the magnificent rainbow tints of this pearl are said
to be further enhanced by a process invented by M. Meyer.

Tortoise-shell follows the same principle of decorative development,
and when pique" is employed, it is usually gold, as being more in harmony
with the colour of the shell.

The ' eventail brisd ' dates from the period of the first introduction
of the folded fan into Europe. This is so named because it has no
mount, but is entirely made up of a number of blades, which may be of
any material — ivory, mother-of-pearl, the various woods, etc.," and are
painted, carved, or otherwise decorated, fastened at the head by means
of a pin or rivet, and further connected with a ribbon running through
each blade, at or near the circumference of the fan.

The earliest are those which were imported in such large quantities
from the East, from the latter part of the sixteenth century onwards.
The Western modification of these is seen in that class of fans
produced in Italy and elsewhere during the latter part of the
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, which consisted of a system
of flat, pierced scroll-work, of a somewhat severe and reticent character.
This was supplemented by panels en cartouche painted and gilt, with por-
tions of the ornament enriched with gold and colour; these usually
opened out to rather less than a third of a circle. Miss Moss of Fleet
possesses an interesting example with a painted ' pastorale ' of three
figures in the centre of the fan, together with lesser subjects en cartouche,
the floral portion of the scroll ornament being emphasised with colour.

In the Wyatt collection is an interesting example of about 1730,

in which the ornament forms a large cartouche in the centre, enclosing

a subject of two Cupids holding a wreath over a heart with a canopy

119

HISTORY OF THE FAN

above. The cartouche is gilt and the figures painted ; the lower portion
of the fan is painted and gilt with flowers in the Chinese taste. The
guards are carved, painted, and gilt ; the connecting ribbon of green
silk ornamented with a pattern in gold.

This system was practised later, with the addition of carving in low
relief, the ornament having developed a rococo character.

Horn is treated in the same process of flat piercing: this was ex-
tensively practised during the whole of the eighteenth century, and many
'minuet' fans were made. A beautiful Italian example of these 'minuet'
fans is in the Wyatt collection, decorated with silver spangles, with a
white silk connecting ribbon.

Double or reversible fans open both ways — either from left to right
or the reverse. These were in vogue during the latter years of the
eighteenth century, and were made of various materials, but usually ivory,
with painted ornaments. The most interesting were, however, those
of sandalwood, with three printed medallions on either side of the fan,
giving twelve subjects. The device, although surprising at first sight,
is really simple, and consists of printing each blade with portions of
two different subjects in the centre, one set of halves being exposed, the
other covered by the blade next following.

These fans were common to most of the Western countries of
Europe, a large number being made in England with subjects after
Angelica Kauffmann and others.

The materials employed for the mount are chicken skin (so called,
but really kid subjected to a particular treatment), asses' skin, vellum,
parchment, silk of various kinds, satin, lace, and paper.

The leaf or mount is sometimes single, but more often double. Those

of the richer fans are painted either in transparent colour or in gouache

(body colour) ; the latter, however, must not be applied too thickly on

account of its liability to crack.

1 20

1
2

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

When the leaf is ready for mounting, i.e. after the painting is
finished, it is pleated in a mould consisting of two pieces of thick,
strong paper or cardboard, specially prepared with a coating of an oily
nature ; the leaf being placed between, and the mould closed and
pressed. The brins are then introduced between the folds, and fixed by
means of glue. This mould was invented about 1760, and the manu-
facture of it has remained since that date in the French family of Petit.1
' This operation of pleating,' says M. Duvelleroy {Rapports du Jury
International, Exposition Universelle, 1867, vol. iv.), 'very simple at
present, was formerly very complicated ; it was necessary for the eVen-
taillistes to exercise the most scrupulous exactitude ; now the mould
dispenses with this care.'

Nothing that woman uses in the great art of pleasing can, however,
be considered simple ; do you doubt this fact ? asks Charles Blanc,
speaking of the modern collective mercantile system, rather than that of
the artist, who begins his work and carries it to completion with his own
hands. ' No less than fifteen or twenty persons are employed in the
making of a fan, which passes through three series of operations —
1st, the work of the stick, in which are employed the cutter, the carver,
the polisher, the gilder, the inlayer, the riveter, and sometimes the jewel
setter, who inserts the precious stones ; 2nd, the leaf, which requires the
designer, painter, or printer as the case may be ; 3rd, the work altogether,
employing the gluer, and in the case of spangled or embroidered fans, the
embroiderer or sempstress, and the folder or pleater.' Finally, as in
fitting, the last finishing touches — the tassels, tufts, and marabouts are
added by the deft hand of a woman, and to quote again Charles Blanc,
' when this formidable weapon of coquetry is completed, it is enclosed in
a case, like a well-tempered blade in its sheath.'2

1 M. Edouard Petit has written an exhaustive monograph on the manufacture of fans, Etudes,
souvenirs et considerations sur la fabrication de I'cventail. Versailles, 1859.

2 Art and Ornament in Dress.

Q 121

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The most distinctive Italian mounts are those in which the whole
field is occupied by subjects, usually from classic mythology. These are
either direct replicas or rearrangements of the works of the later Italian
masters — Giulio Romano, the Carracci, Guido, Guercino, as well as those
French artists who either worked in Italy, or whose works found their
way to that country, as Poussin, who spent the greater part of his life in
Rome, Le Brun, and others. In these the chief interest centres in the
mount, which is usually deep, and generally of skin, but occasionally of
paper. The painting is in pure water-colour and also in gouache. In
many instances these leaves have never been mounted ; in others, the
mount has been removed from the stick, and framed as a picture. None
can with any measure of certainty be traced to a master-hand, although a
fan appeared at the exhibition held in Drapers' Hall (1878), which is
declared to be by Pietro da Cortona (Berrettini), 1596-1667, and said to
have belonged to the Marquise de Pompadour.

One of the earliest of these fan-mounts is in the possession of Mr.
J. G. Rosenberg of Karlsruhe ; the subject Orpheus and Iphigenia, the
date about 1670. In the Jubinal collection is a Rape of the Sabines, an
original design by F. Romanelli, who was employed by Louis xiv. on
the frescoes in the Bibliotheque Mazarine.

Bacchus and Ariadne was a favourite subject — Guido's well-known
composition in the Accademia di Luca, at Rome, being often pressed into
the service. The large engraving of Jacobus Freij was issued in 1727, and
it is probable that the majority of mounts decorated with this subject
were produced after the publication of the engraving. The version
illustrated is from the collection of Lady Northcliffe ; a skin mount, with
slight differences in the arrangement, was exhibited at South Kensington
in 1870 by Captain J. E. Ottley; a third is in the cabinet of an American
collector.

The famous composition by Annibale Carracci in the Farnese Palace

122

tq
5.

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

also appears on a number of mounts ; a portion of this picture forms the
subject of the centre medallion of Lady Northcliffe's fan (illustrated).

The still more popular 'Aurora' of Guido supplied the subject of
many mounts, including one in the Schreiber collection, British Museum.

Fans painted with Raphael's well-known composition of the ' Marriage
of Cupid and Psyche,' in the Villa Farnesina at Rome, appear in many
collections, the landscape being added ; the example illustrated is a typical
one; the stick, however, is modern.

The fan in the Wyatt collection with the subject of Venus and Adonis,
by Leonardo Germo of Rome, is interesting from the fact that it is an
example of an artist, who, apparently, signed a number of fans, and also
from the circumstance that it formerly belonged to Benjamin West. The
mount is kid, the stick tortoise-shell, engraved, silvered, and gilt.

A fan with the subject of the Triumph of Mordecai, signed ' Germo,'
was exhibited at South Kensington in 1870 by M. Chardin of Paris.

Another example in the possession of Lady Northcliffe has an alle-
gorical subject by Germo, on skin, the stick of ivory finely carved, the
guards mother-of-pearl.

Somewhat akin to the mounts above described are those elaborate

compositions finely drawn in India ink, with pen or brush, on skin mounts,

usually vellum. These, from the absence of colour, were used as mourning

fans, the sticks invariably of ivory, piqud, or carved ; they are included in

most collections that make any pretension to completeness. Lady Bristol

possesses one with the subject of Bacchus and Ariadne after Carracci ; but

by far the most splendid example of this class of fan appeared in the Walker

sale in 1882. This is a crowded composition of the Triumph of Alexander

(after Le Brun), in which the conqueror is seated in a chariot drawn by

elephants; on the reverse the death of Actaeon. The stick and guards

mother-of-pearl, carved with Cupids and ornaments, painted in panels with

episodes in the life of Alexander. Finely variegated gilding.

123

HISTORY OF THE FAN

These fans are characteristically Italian, certainly Italian in their
origin. Their production, however, was by no means confined to Italy.
M. Duvelleroy has a Dutch example with ivory stick carved a jour, the
mount vellum, the subject on the obverse representing an embarkation
with numerous figures, on the reverse a dance of peasants with musicians.
(Illustration facing p. 192.)

Neapolitan fans divide themselves into two distinct classes or groups
— the first having a figure subject en cartouche in the centre, usually
taken from classic mythology, the field being occupied by that form of
arabesque (grotteschi), so usual in Pompeian wall decoration.

This class of mount dates from the re-discovery and unearthing of
Pompeii in 1748, and its production was continued until the end of the
century and later. Two excellent examples are given from the collection of
Mrs. Bruce Johnston, formerly in the possession of Lord Bessborough.
The one with the subject of Bacchus and Ariadne, from a fresco at Pompeii,
bought in Naples by Lady Duncannon ; the other of a sacrificial subject,
also from a Pompeian fresco, obtained in the same city (in the eighteenth
century) by Lady Ponsonby.

Many of these mounts have, in lieu of a single central subject, several
miniatures en cartouche, associated with arabesques similar in character to
those above referred to. A good example appears in the Wyatt collection at
South Kensington.

In the second type of Neapolitan mounts, the field is similarly divided

into panels, usually one superior and two inferior, representing views,

generally the bay of Naples with Vesuvius in the distance, forming the

centre panel, and Vesuvius in eruption, and a classic ruin on either

side. These, with other Italian views, as the Colosseum in Rome, form a

very large class ; the panels being associated with arabesque or other

ornaments.

Another important class of Italian mounts gives a view of some famous

124

3 i

e «*
6 t

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

building or place, occupying the whole field of the fan. Of this, no finer
example could be given than the magnificent fan in the possession of
Mr. W. Burdett-Coutts, M.P., of the Piazza of St. Mark's, Venice, after
Canaletto (Antonio Canal, b. 1687, d. 1768). The mount is skin; on the
right is a group of performing acrobats surrounded by spectators ; on
the left some strolling players, with peregrinic theatre; on the reverse
a view of Venice from the sea. The stick ivory, carved a jour, with
characters of the pantomime, some being gilt and painted in ' vernis Martin,'
others in the pure ivory ; the guards carved with marks and musical
trophies.

These acrobats, one of the popular Venetian amusements of the period,
appear in ' A Fete on the Piazzetta,' school of Canaletto, in the Wallace
collection.

This fan, together with one of a similar class, with a view of St. Peter's
at Rome, was acquired by the late Baroness at the Walker sale in 1882.

Fans were made for children in Italy and most other countries during
the eighteenth century. These were both painted and printed, the latter
variety often having the numerals 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, o, on the leaf,
doubtless as serving an educational purpose. A collection of these
children's fans was exhibited by Miss Marie Josephs at Drapers' Hall
in 1890.

The beautiful Italian fan, ' Cupid's Hive,' contributed by Lady Bristol,
is so charming in the skill of its painted leaf, and the delicate carving of its
ivory-jewelled stick, that it is difficult to conceive of its having been placed
in the hands of a child. These fans occasionally appear in painted portraits,
the Infanta Margaretha-Theresia, by Velasquez, in the Vienna Gallery,
being an instance.

The foregoing includes all the principal types of fans produced in
Italy during the period we have under consideration ; they each present
well-marked characteristics, and are therefore not difficult of identification.

125

HISTORY OF THE FAN

We have abundant written testimony to the superiority of the Italian
workmen during the seventeenth century, and to the extent of the Italian
export trade in fans during this period and even later. We have also
the evidence of the fans themselves ; we shall see, too, how the Paris
eventaillistes first learned their craft from the Italian workmen who
migrated northward. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, however,
a complete change had taken place in the conditions of fan production,
this period witnessing the rise of the French export trade, and the middle
of the century its highest development, at which latter period Paris supplied
not only Italy but Spain, and to some extent England also. Of this we
have more than a hint from the pen of one of the most distinguished
Italians of the latter half of the century.

The fan of Goldoni's comedy was one of the ordinary sort, ' not worth
perhaps five paoli.' The concluding lines of the play make it clear that
a considerable trade in the cheaper French fans was done in Italy at this
period (1763), and, by inference, that Paris fans had the best reputation,
unless indeed we are to suppose that this was a compliment paid by
Goldoni to the country of his adoption, from which, too, he enjoyed a
pension :

Candida (to Susanna). It is from Paris, this fan?

Susanna. Yes, from Paris ; I guarantee it.

Geltrude. Come, I invite you all to supper, and we will drink to this
fan which did all the harm and brought all the good.

126

■a

«s

4«
R

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES— Continued

RIGID SCREEN

(Carried by the married ladies

of Bologna.)

SPANISH

THE Spaniards, says Henri Estienne, carried towards
1440 large round screens garnished with plumes, and
in the sixteenth century folded fans, 4ventails plissds,
enriched with gold and attached to the waist by a
gold cord. Of these latter, many, doubtless, were im-
ported from Italy ; few, probably, were of native work-
manship. A very small pleated fan appears in the
hand of a Spanish lady, illustrated in Vecellio, 1590.
The rigid flag-fan employed in Italy at this period
was also used in Spain, together with the various
plumed fans, some in the shape of a peacock's tail ; others formed of
the feathers of the ostrich, pheasant, parrot, and Indian raven. During
the seventeenth century and later, a large export trade in unpainted
pleated fans was done in Paris to Madrid and other Spanish cities,
where they were decorated by native artists; many were exported com-
plete, the authenticity of many so-called Spanish fans must always there-
fore remain a more or less doubtful question. The well-known story
of Cano de Arevalo, given in Quilliet's Dictionnaire des peintres
espagnols, sufficiently testifies to the extent of the Paris export trade
and the popularity of French fans during this period. This painter,
who was a capable miniaturist, finding himself impoverished after a
period of extravagance and dissipation, secluded himself for a whole
winter, produced a number of fans, and passed them off as newly-
imported French ones. The trick proved completely successful, for upon

127

HISTORY OF THE FAN

its discovery, he was not only hailed as a master, but was subsequently
appointed abaniquero (fan-maker) to the queen. Cano was born at
Valdemoro in 1656, and was assassinated in a bull-fight at Madrid in
1696. From the same source (Quilliet) we learn that Cano also 'essayed
water-colour painting on a larger scale, but only succeeded with fans,'
which are still esteemed, the few that are preserved.

This success of Cano must necessarily have given a considerable
impetus to the native production of fans, largely used from the fifteenth
century onwards by men as well as women.

In brief, the story of Spanish painting during the whole of the
sixteenth century is that of a general migration of Spanish artists to
Italy for purposes of study, with a consequent strong Italian influence ; and
an immigration of Italian artists to Spain, chiefly at the invitation of
Charles v. The seventeenth century witnessed the rise and full develop-
ment of a purely native school of painting, headed by Velasquez and
Murillo, who, however, can scarcely be said to have exercised any influence
upon the fan, since they were painters pure and simple, i.e. their works
were distinguished by the qualities of the painter rather than those of
the designer ; and, especially in the case of Velasquez, their subjects were
unsuitable to the fan.

We do not usually look to the last-named painter for elaboration
of detail. The folding-fan in the hands of the Spanish lady by Velasquez,
'La Femme a l'Fiventail,' at Hertford House, would appear to be of
leather, judging from the colour and texture, with applied ornaments at
regular intervals. This is probably of the scented variety, peau de
senteur, made both in Italy and Spain at this period.1 We have
already referred to the portrait of the little Infanta Margaretha-Theresia
by Velasquez in the Vienna Gallery, in which a closed folding-fan is
represented.

1 Fans of scented wood had, earlier, been introduced into the French Court by Anne of Austria.

128

jMias Adoss.

Capturf ^(At,lSal^ari£ 7sla^i^~s, /?59, *5joa*iZj^

Atrl- CJZM^^L.

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

In the Prado at Madrid appear the following portraits : —

Mengs. Maria Giuseppa, Archduchess of Austria, a closed folding-fan,
jewelled.
,, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples, a folding-fan.
Lopez. Queen Maria Cristina di Borbone, a closed folding-fan.
Goya. Queen Maria Luisa, a closed folding-fan.

The interesting fan representing the capture of the Balearic Islands
by the Spaniards in 1759 may be taken as of Spanish workmanship. The
subject is taken from a painting in the Escurial. The stick is ivory, carved
h jour with three cartouches, painted and gilt ; in the centre appear figures
of commanders on horseback, a march of troops on the one side and warships
on the other ; the background ' gold-fish ' inlay. The paper mount is painted
in gouache; and on the reverse is a view of a fort. The style of the
painting presents similar characteristics to a fan mount in the Schreiber
collection, British Museum, in which we are introduced to a ' Carrousel
at Madrid,' with a large square filled with spectators appearing at the
windows of the houses ; in the centre of the background is a pavilion with
the king and suite, inscribed Carlos m., and a performance of a number
of horsemen led by the ' Duque de Mddinacdli,' the ' Marques de Tabara,'
and the ' Marques de Aztorga.' The leaf, which has been removed from the
stick, is of paper, painted in gouache. A fan of this subject appeared
in the exhibition of fans at South Kensington in 1870, in the possession
of Madame Charles Heine of Paris ; the stick of tortoise-shell, carved
and gilt.

This same king, who succeeded to the Spanish throne in 1759,

figures as the subject of two fan designs in the Schreiber collection,

the one representing his triumphal entry into Naples in 1734 on his

election to the crown of the Two Sicilies, with the subject inscribed

in Spanish ; the leaf signed ' F° La Vega Hisp. Let. D.' ; below the

picture, ' Minado por Cayetano Pichini Romano.' The other, a companion
r 129

HISTORY OF THE FAN

fan design, represents the sham-fight and siege of Gaeta in 1734 on the
occasion referred to above ; a canopy bears the arms of Spain, and on
either side a trophy with the arms of Medicis and Farnese ; the subject
inscribed in Spanish : ' Fm La Vega Hispa6 Bilbilitanus InT e Delineavit
Roma,' and ' Minado Por Leonardo Egiarmon Flamenco.' Both these
fan designs are vigorously drawn with pen in bistre and worked with
India ink, the style betraying a strong late Italian influence.

One of the first acts of Charles, upon his accession to the throne, was
to enter into a treaty with Louis xv. known as the ' Pacte de famille,' by
which these two kings of the house of Bourbon united themselves into an
offensive and defensive alliance. By the terms of this treaty, signed 15th
August 1761, Spain was obliged to take part in the war in which France
and England were then engaged, France hoping to avail herself of the mari-
time power of Spain, and to prevent Portugal from declaring common cause
with England. Its only effect, however, was to inflict upon her ally a series
of disasters similar to her own, Spain losing Cuba, Manilla, and the
Philippine Islands, and France Martinique, besides being finally expelled
from Canada, thus completing the work begun by Wolfe at Quebec some
two years previously.

The sequel to these events was the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the prelimin-
aries of peace being signed at Fontainebleau on the 3rd November of the
previous year.

By the terms of this instrument, Canada, the islands of Minorca,

Grenada and the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica and Tobago were ceded

to Britain, while to France were restored Belleisle on the French coast, the

islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon near Newfoundland, Martinique, Guada-

loupe, Marigalante, Desirade, and St. Lucia in the West Indies. Havannah

was restored to Spain, the Spaniards in return ceding Florida to the English,

and agreeing also to make peace with Portugal.

In La Revue Hispaniqzie, tome viii., appeared an article by M. Gabriel

130

8-i

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

Marcel, reprinted in pamphlet form under the title of ' Un Iiventail
Historique du dix-huitieme siecle, Paris, 1901,' describing and illustrating
a remarkable fan in the cabinet of a Parisian amateur whose name is not
given, commemorating the event above referred to.

The stick is ivory, carved with an agreeable pell-mell of cartouches, gilt ;
the centre being occupied by a conversation galante of four figures in the
costume of the Watteau period.

In the centre of the skin leaf, finely painted in gouache, is a stone
table carved in high relief with figures of Cupids, near which are the Kings
of France and Spain, each accompanied by a female figure representing the
respective countries, and bearing a shield of arms ; above, a figure of Peace
crowned with olive leaves appears from the clouds and directs the ceremony.
In the middle distance is a tribune on which are seated three female figures,
with a cornucopia of abundance, and the arms of France and Spain ; above
is a figure of Fame with a trumpet.

In the more immediate foreground are the Kings of England and
Portugal, their identity being determined by the blazoning of the shields
which accompany them. Court officials, together with their ladies, complete
the composition.

The reverse, which is less interesting, and probably by another hand,
represents an architectural structure with, again, the arms of France, and
above, those of France and Spain entwined.

Although it is possible that the fan may be of Spanish manufacture, it is
more probably French, since it bears all the characteristics of French work
of the period of Louis Quinze. It was probably made either for a royal
princess, or for the wife of some prominent official who took part in the
negotiations of the treaty.

The classical revival of the middle of the eighteenth century was not
without its effect on Spain ; fans being painted in this country also with
subjects from the Greek mythology. At the exhibition at South Kensington

131

HISTORY OF THE FAN

in 1870, the Dowager-Countess of Craven exhibited a large Spanish dress
fan, the mount richly painted on vellum, with a centre subject of Aurora and
Zephyr, the floral ornaments embossed in gold and spangled ; the stick
carved ivory and mother-of-pearl, with figures in gold relief variegated and
spangled, jewelled stud.1

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century onwards, a class of fan
was made in which the stick, usually of tortoise-shell, but also of ivory and
other material, was elaborately pierced and carved, occasionally in the most
ornate fashion, the brins numbering from eight to ten, the guards wide,
both being heavily incrusted with gold and silver. The mounts of these
fans were always narrow, measuring about three-sevenths of the length of
the stick. This class of fan, examples of which appear in most collections,
by general consent has . been associated with Spain, although, doubtless, it
was produced in other countries also.

One of the earliest of these fans, as well as one of the finest, is that in
the possession of Lady Bristol, described and illustrated in the succeeding
chapter, page 163. This, from the skill displayed in its finely designed
stick, and the style of its delicately painted leaf, is more probably French
than Spanish. Interesting examples of this class of fan are given from the
collections of H.R.H. the Princess Victor of Hohenlohe-Brandenburg and
Mrs. Frank W. Gibson. In the first-named instance the stick is tortoise-
shell, with gold incrustations of figures of Roman warriors, musicians
in the costume of the period of the fan (c. 1780), Cupids, and other orna-
ments : the leaf a pretty pastoral ; the work, although probably Spanish,
showing a strong French influence.

Mrs. Gibson's fan belonged to her grandmother, who was a Spaniard ;
the leaf, probably, represents the betrothal of Louis xvi. and Marie Antoinette,
Louis being but sixteen at the time of his marriage in 1770. The Austrian
Court was closely allied to that of Spain ; and this subject, therefore,

1 S. Redgrave, South Kensington Catalogue of Fan Exhibition, 1870.

132

CORRIGENDUM

Page 132, line 12 from bottom, for H.R.H. the Princess
Victor of Hohenlohe-Brandenburg, read H.S.H. the
Princess Victor of Hohenlohe Langenburg.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Towards the middle of the eighteenth century onwards, a class of fan
was made in which the stick, usually of tortoise-shell, but also of ivory and
other material, was elaborately pierced and carved, occasionally in the most
ornate fashion, the brins numbering from eight to ten, the guards wide,
both being heavily incrusted with gold and silver. The mounts of these
fans were always narrow, measuring about three-sevenths of the length of
the stick. This class of fan, examples of which appear in most collections,
by general consent has. been associated with Spain, although, doubtless, it
was produced in other countries also.

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

would naturally appeal to the Spaniards. A wedding fan occurs in
the collection of Lady Lindsay, having for its centre medallion a lady's
dressing-room, with Cupid holding a mirror ; on the sides are a Cupid lighting
his torch from an altar, and a Cupid with bow and arrows. The stick of
tortoise-shell, finely silvered and gilt.

A remarkable fan in this same collection was brought from Madrid
by Lady Canning, who accompanied Sir Stratford Canning to Spain on
a special mission from Queen Victoria, and was given to Lady Lindsay in
1878. The stick is of ivory, finely and elaborately carved ; the mount,
skin, painted in the Chinese taste; illustrated facing p. 127.

The character of Spanish work of the stick, which, with a few isolated
exceptions, never reached a high level of attainment, materially deteriorated
towards the close of the century. A fan appears in the Schreiber collection,
with ivory stick, indifferently carved and gilt, the silk leaf having for its
subject a large medallion of the surrender of Minorca in 1782, with the
English army evacuating the island, and the Spanish flag waving over the
fort of S. Phelippe ; the sides decorated with vases of flowers embroidered,
painted, and spangled ; the subject inscribed in Spanish along the top
border of the fan.

Of the treatment of the stick, two interesting examples in the Wyatt
collection may be referred to — the one, belonging to the early part of the
century, in which painted trellis-work in blue and brown is introduced as a
background to finely pierced and carved cartouches of figures and other
subjects, the ornament being enriched with gold ; the other with a paper
mount representing the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon (probably
a church-fan), the mother-of-pearl sticks engraved with three figure sub-
jects en cartouche, with elaborate scroll-work ; the leading features of the
ornament, together with portions of the figures, being emphasised with
thin lines of gold, having an extremely pleasant effect; c. 1750.

Spanish painting in the latter half of the eighteenth century experienced

133

HISTORY OF THE FAN

some revival in the person of Francisco Goya, one of the most extraordinary
personalities who ever wielded a brush, and whose greatness is only just
beginning to be adequately recognised, chiefly, however, on account of his
etchings, of which he produced a number.1

If we may conceive Goya as ever touching the fan, the example il-
lustrated, from the collection of Lady Northcliffe, is just such a one as he
might have painted. At any rate this may be considered as a typical
Spanish fan. The silk leaf has in the centre a mounted picador, with six
medallions of bull-fights ; above the picador are two Cupids holding a
shield of arms, with thirteen other shields along the upper border, bearing
the arms of Biscaria, Cordova, Majorca, Valencia, Arragonia, Leon, Castillia,
Navarra, Toledo, Gallicia, Andalusia, Murcia, and Catalonia. The shields,
together with the medallions, are bordered with embroidered spangles ; the
ivory stick and guards finely pierced and inlaid with gold and silver.

The charming spangled fan in the possession of Mr. Talbot Hughes
may also be accepted as of undoubted Spanish workmanship. In this,
the leaf is of white silk, painted with a female figure in a garden,
arranging flowers from a basket. The head is an applied miniature on
ivory, a device much affected by the Chinese ; the necklace, seed pearls
applique' ; the dress completely of spangles. The leaf is enriched with a
border of gold and silver sequins of various forms, some being set with
crystals. The stick ivory, coloured, gilt, and decorated a la paillette.
The date about 1800.

It has been shown, beyond any possibility of doubt, that during the
seventeenth century French exportation of this dainty article to Spain was
considerable, French fans enjoying the best reputation in that country, as
well as in Italy, and that this pre-eminence was maintained during the
succeeding century, the period of the highest development of the fan

1 One of the most potent earlier influences on Spanish painting was that of Titian, who, although
probably never in Spain, painted a number of pictures for the Escurial.

134

« a

Is*

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

industry in France ; but while it is difficult to associate the native Spanish
workmanship with fans of the highest calibre, a preference for the richer
French fans having always prevailed, it is certain that the production of
the cheaper fans was, and is, considerable, Valencia being the chief centre
of the industry. It is equally certain that in no country in Europe is the
employment of the fan so general, or the toy so gracefully wielded, as in
this land of light, colour, and romance.

Thdophile Gautier {Tra los monies) thus refers to the importance of the
fan in Spain : ' The Fan corrects in some measure the pretension of the
Spaniards to Parisianism. A woman without a fan is a thing I have
never yet seen in that favoured land ; I have seen women wearing satin
shoes without any stockings, but they had, nevertheless, their fans, which
follow them everywhere, even to church, where you meet groups of all
ages, kneeling or sitting, praying and fanning themselves with equal
fervour.'

1 We should remember,' says Disraeli {Contarini Fleming), ' that here
[Cadiz], as in the north, the fan is not confined to the delightful sex.
The cavalier also has his fan ; and, that the habit may not be considered
an indication of effeminacy, learn that in this scorching clime the soldier
will not mount guard without this solace.'

In Spain, as in China and Japan, there is a fan for every occasion — for
the street, where paper ones are used, these affording more breeze on a
sultry day than do lace or silk ; for feast days, bull-fights,1 and the theatre,
silk or lace fans, mounted on sandalwood, bone, ivory, or mother-of-pearl.
A favourite material is silk, mounted on a carved wooden frame which
opens and shuts easily, a most essential thing in a Spanish fan, which is
perpetually in motion, portraying the feelings and thoughts that are passing
through the mind of its owner.

1 'They all love the feasts of bulls, and strive to appear gloriously fine when they see them.' — Memoirs
of Lady Fanshawe.

135

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The fan is in the hands of every one, from the merest baby to the big
toreador, who employs it as a means of exciting the ire of his bovine
adversary. It serves as convenient screen for the dark-eyed beauty, who,
seated in the balcony in the still evening, listens eagerly to the impassioned
serenade beneath.

At the theatre, says Blondel, nothing is more curious than the mani-
pulation of these instruments, playing with the expressive grace which
is a silent flirtation. Before the play begins, or during the intervals,
every one talks in the midst of a confused noise resembling the buzzing
of an immense swarm of flies. The curtain rises — all resume their places ;
the conversation ceases ; the fans, everywhere waving in varied movement,
gradually, one by one, tone down into regularity of time ; they flutter in
captivating cadence, suggesting in appearance a crowd of variegated
butterflies, and charming the ear with their delightful ' frou-frou.'

It is this play of the fan (manejo del abanicd) in which fair dames
and demoiselles have become such adepts, that it has been necessary to
coin a word to express this charming art. Thus, ' abanicar ' means the
play of the fan, while ' ojear ' signifies the language of the eyes. These
two manoeuvres, remarks M. Louis Iinault shrewdly, are closely allied,
and one alone suffices for a man's destruction.

The fan, indeed, has its own particular language, more eloquent than
that of flowers — the Spanish novia (lady-love) communicates her thoughts
by code to her novio (sweetheart), as — engaged couples in Spain being
never allowed alone — woman's ready wit has devised this means of pri-
vate conversation.

The instructions are set forth in fifty different directions in a little
booklet published in German by Frau Bartholomaus, from the original
Spanish of Fenella. A few examples will probably suffice as an indica-
cation of the method : —

136

Mr77z.Uct ffujku

Fete cb lAoriailtiLrC. f7P£. sltL rrv-ou.rit, sba.iaU.1

AirLCR.Alt*stL

PAINTED FANS (ITALIAN AND SPANISH)

i. You have won my love. Place the shut fan near the heart.

2. When may I be allowed to see you ? The shut fan resting upon the right eye.

3. At what hour?

4. I long always to be near thee.

5. Do not be so imprudent.

6. Why do you misunderstand me?

7. You may kiss me.

8. Forgive me, I pray you.

9. Do not betray our secret.
10. I promise to marry you.

The number of the sticks of the fan in-
dicate the hour.

Touch the unfolded fan in the act of
waving.

Threaten with the shut fan.

Gaze pensively at the unfolded fan.

Press the half-opened fan to the lips.

Clasp the hands under the open fan.

Cover the left ear with the open fan.

Shut the full-opened fan very slowly.

And so on, through the whole gamut of the language of love.

A shorter code has been published in English (duly copyrighted) by
M. J. Duvelleroy. This, although the principle is the same, differs
materially in the details ; thus, ' I love you ' in Spanish is to hide the
eyes behind the opened fan ; in English, to draw the fan across the cheek.
' I hate you,' in the former instance, is to raise the shut fan to the
shoulder in the right hand ; in the latter, to draw the fan through the
hand : either code being sufficiently expressive and acquired with
tolerable ease.

137

CHAPTER VII

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES (FRENCH)

THE so-called Renaissance of the arts of France in
the sixteenth century was the outcome of an increased
knowledge of, and familiarity with, Italian ideals of
life, and the splendours of a more refined civilisation ;
it represented the assimilation of the national spirit,
the union of French ' nettete" d'exdcution ' with the more
sober learning of Italian tradition. The beginnings of
this Italian influence are to be discovered earlier, in
the visit of Jean Foucquet to Italy in 1440-1445; this
event being the signal for a general migration of Italian
artists northward.

For the purposes of the fan, however, we are con-
cerned only with the history of French art from the
period when, in 1530, at the invitation of Francois 1.,
Le Rosso and Primaticcio repaired to Paris for the
purpose of decorating the palace at Fontainebleau.
At this period architecture was creating Chenonceau and Chambord.
Sculpture, in the hands of Cellini and Jean Goujon, was providing the
decorative details for the chateau then being built by Philibert de l'Orme
for Diana de Poitiers.

In the sister art of Painting, Jean Cousin and Francois Clouet, to-
gether with Primaticcio, who continued working until 1570, were the

dominant influences.

138

FAN OF RICE STRAW

(From a Fifteenth- Century MS.
in the National Library, Paris.)

i *

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

Simon Vouet, recalled to Paris after a lengthy sojourn in Rome, was
painting the nobles of the French court, and decorating for Richelieu the
Palais Royal and the Chateau de Rueil. Poussin, French by birth,
Italian and classic in sympathy, found the artistic atmosphere of Rome
more congenial to him. In 1640, upon a pressing invitation from
Louis xiii., he migrated to Paris, but, on account of court intrigues, the
jealousies of his brother artists, and the malignity of Vouet, under pre-
tence of bringing his wife from Rome, he left Paris in 1642, never to
return.

The pupils of Vouet were Le Sueur and Charles le Brun. With
this latter artist French painting enters upon a new phase, and it is
impossible to overestimate the influence for good or for evil exercised
by him during the latter half of the seventeenth century ; nay, it extended
practically over the whole of the century, since he began painting almost
from his infancy.

The work of Le Brun, in spite of its many affectations, possesses
many admirable qualities : such a composition, for example, as ' The
Entry of Alexander into Babylon,' now in the Louvre, which, by the way,
appears on an Italian fan in the Wyatt collection, at once stamps him
as a master of decorative arrangement, and is typical both of his qualities
and his limitations.

One of the most significant events in the history of French art was
the founding of the Academy in 1648: in this Le Brun naturally took a
leading part, as also in the foundation of the French School in Rome, of
which he was the first director. The establishment of the Academy had
a direct as well as an indirect bearing upon the fan, since on more than
one occasion it ' used the power of its prestige in defence of the just
liberties of the eventaillistes.' 2

1 Proces Verbaux, April 26, 1762, Jan. 1765. Lady Dilke, French Painters of the Eighteenth Century,
p. 12.

139

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Pierre Mignard (Le Romain), the lifelong rival of Le Brun, pos-
sessed something of the grand manner, derived from his study of the
Carracci and Domenichino. In 1664 he was the head of the Academy of
St. Luke, and in 1690, upon the death of Le Brun, he was appointed
Director of the Academy of Painting, a post which he filled until his
death in 1695.

We have said that during the sixteenth century, Italian influences on
French art were paramount — these influences being entirely healthy and
regenerative. Throughout the succeeding century the dominant influence
was still Italian, but its effect was as deleterious as it had been formerly
beneficent.

By 1700 the decorative arts were well on the downward path.
Bernini had been dead twenty years, but his influence, together with
that of Borromini, was still a living thing, and was still working irre-
parable mischief. Sir M. Digby Wyatt, in a powerful article written for
Owen Jones's Grammar of Ornament, referring to Borromini, says :
' From his fervid imagination and rare facility as a draughtsman and
designer, he soon obtained ample employment ; and in his capricious
vagaries, every tendency to extravagance that Bernini's style possessed
Borromini contrived to caricature. Until his death, in 1667, he continued
sedulously occupied in subverting all known principles of order and
symmetry, not only to his own enrichment, but to the admiration of the
leaders of the fashion of the day. The anomalies he introduced into
design, the disproportionate mouldings, broken, contrasted, and re-entering
curves, . . . became the mode of the day, and all Europe was speedily
busy in devising similar enormities. In France the fever raged speedily,
and the popular style, in place of the quaint but picturesque forms to
be seen in the engravings of Du Cerceau, 1576, substituted the more
elaborate but less agreeable ones to be found in Marot, 1727, and

Mariette, 1726-7. . . . Despite this debasing influence,' continues our

140

Z,CL£>Ctflse , L OUIS'XV. skirv Uof, met fur of pearl stiel
carve J, r>a.inT^cl,<£L yilt. 22X7/$. '

TA^T>u^lyi cfVortLnd.

J>ajrterrelLe-, ZjytUfXV, sizn. lea/, toTrtouseskell stick.,
hvith- ootcL tTucy-usta-ti^ru /&+X70.

Thc-'Iyu^A.aJs tfJiortLajl^jL.

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

author, ' many of the French artists of the time, both of Louis xiv. and
xv., in the midst of their extravagances, made many beautiful ornamental
designs, showing in them a sense of capricious beauty of line rarely
surpassed.'

This, although written at the period of perhaps the very lowest ebb
of the decorative arts, the mid-Victorian era, pretty well sums up the
matter, and is a fair estimate of the decorative tendencies that obtained
at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The general character of the
fan, therefore, necessarily partook of this debasing influence, and reflected
the ornamental vulgarities and fashionable inanities of the time. Thus
we have, in moulded ornament, a profusion of those extravagant shell-
like cartouches which have become identified with the periods of Louis xv.
and xvi. ; curly structures elaborately perforated, beginning and ending
at will, observing no reasonable or well-defined law, but expressing only
the caprice of the artist. These either formed the starting-point for the
lighter ornaments, or were associated with naturalistic swags and festoons
of fruit and flowers, masks, ribbons, etc.

With the dawn of the eighteenth century, French pictorial art enters
upon that era of fites galantes, conversations galantes, and amusements
champetres, which, whatever its shortcomings, was purely French and native
to the soil. The pernicious influence of the Italian decadence is about
to be shaken off. Watteau was sixteen years old, and just commencing
those labours which resulted in the practical regeneration of French
painting. He may be said to dominate the art of the eighteenth century
as completely as Le Brun had overshadowed the century which preceded.
He sums up in himself that spirit of the joyousness of life, that careless,
impulsive frivolity which is the note of the age.

His immediate followers, Lancret, Pater, and in some sense De Troy,

carried on the tradition, but with a more pronounced convention : the

shimmer and sheen of silk and satin draperies are painted according to

141

HISTORY OF THE FAN

a recipe, the general treatment of the subjects reveals a less delicate
fancy, and a less tender sympathy.

Boucher, friend and servant of La Pompadour, 'with her fan that
breaks through halberds,' J has been styled, with more or less semblance to
truth, the Anacreon of painters. His convention is of an entirely different
order to that of Watteau and his school ; but if his method and style is
more artificial, it is because life and manners have become less sincere,
and because he is true to his belief that ' Nature wanted harmony and
seduction ' ; he yields nothing to his predecessors in artistic power, he is
completely master of his technique, and understands exactly the measure
of his gifts. In his pupil Fragonard, we have in reality the true heir and
successor of Watteau — the same supple touch, the same alluring grace, the
same captivating invention and suggestiveness which always summons us
to an enchanted land of love, and music, and dalliance.

It was an exceedingly gay, light-hearted, and pleasant time — in painting
at any rate. Strephon sat at the feet of Phyllis, warbling soft nothings
to the accompaniment of the lute. Dan Cupid, who was everywhere in
evidence, took it for granted that his presence was always a propos, and
never troubled his curly head as to whether his decorative surroundings
were in the nicest possible taste. The fan necessarily reflected this eccen-
tricity and extravagance — indeed it took its natural place in the general
decorative scheme ; the ' dainty rogues ' of the sideboard and mantel-shelf
were in complete harmony with the still more dainty rogues of the fan ;
the shepherdess in her flowered skirt rubbed shoulders, or attempted to
do so, with the fine lady in crinoline.

The fun waxed faster and more furious ; the times grew madder and
still more mad ; the exuberance of the rococo became more and more
pronounced, until no inanity remained untried, no extravagant banality
overlooked. Then came the inevitable reaction. The latter half of the

1 Walter Thornbury, Legendary Ballads and Songs.
142

■a
I

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

century witnessed the sowing of the seed, and, indeed, the full fruition, of
that neo-classicism, which, although a relief from the barocco of the pre-
ceding period, was the outcome of no settled conviction except the
desirability of entering any port in a storm ; it had its origin in the
interest which was then being taken in archaeology and classical research.

With the Revolution came artistic chaos, and — the nineteenth
century. The cold, correct classicalities of the ' style de l'Empire ' were
due, in great part, to the influence of the painter David, although the
inauguration of this new epoch was claimed by Vien. The work of David
and that of his immediate followers, Girodet, Gros, Gerard, and Ingres,
represented perhaps the natural antidote to the decorative debauch which
is here passed rapidly in review ; its final overthrow was brought about by
that riot of academic tradition in which it subsequently indulged, rather
than by the labours of Delacroix and the school of Romanticists which
followed.

This, in the briefest possible terms, is an account of the general
and more obvious tendencies of French art during the two centuries we
have under consideration. How far, then, and to what extent may we
trace the direct handiwork of these artists upon the fan ? What of the
authors of these dainty creations, that fluttered and shimmered like
so many butterflies through the summer sunshine — what do we know
of their personality?

Several references are made in this work to the similarity which
exists between the eVentaillistes and the ceramists. The conditions of
production were precisely the same, the workers in the two arts were,
broadly speaking, of the same artistic calibre ; indeed, it is on record
that, upon a shortage of painters at the royal factory of Sevres, the
eVentaillistes were called in to fill the breach. At the close of the reign
of Louis xv., says Paul Mantz, the most prominent eVentaillistes were
Chevalier, Josse, Boguet, Hubert, Race, and Mme. V£rite\ Amongst the

143

HISTORY OF THE FAN

painters, almost in every instance obscure, were doubtless some young
artists who had still their position to make, and the signature of Cahaigue
is recorded with the date 1766. In the Louvre are two fan leaves signed
by Raymond La Farge, c. 1680. An ivory brise" fan, with the subject of
Blindman's Buff, signed 'Tiquet Fecit, 1720/ appeared in the Walker sale
in 1882. Le Sieur Pichard, also, is mentioned in an almanac of 1773,
as being very well known as a fan painter ; Mme. Dore\ at the same
date, painted on silk and gauze: both the last-named worked for the
eventaillistes. — But the greater names, which have become illustrious in
the annals of French art, Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard ; is it possible
to claim these also for the fan? — A fan bearing the ineffably gracious
touch of a Fragonard, what a possession 1 Lancret painted a picture in
the form of a fan, representing two figures in a wooded landscape. M.
Paul Mantz, referring to the fan in the collection of Dr. Poigey of
Paris, decorated with light simple ornament and medallion heads of a youth
and two young girls, says : ' The delicacy of refined rose tint, the sureness
of touch, the free manipulation of the gouache, show a master-hand ; of
a certainty, if Boucher ever painted a fan, it is this one.'

Balzac (Cousin Pons) refers to a 'gem of a fan' found at a second-
hand dealer's, enclosed in a little box of West India wood, signed by
Watteau^), and formerly the property of La Pompadour. The old
musician turns towards his cousin with a courtly bow, offers her the fan
of the favourite, saying : ' It is time for that which has served Vice to
be in the hands of Virtue; a hundred years will be required to work
such a miracle. Be sure that no princess can have anything comparable
with this chef dceuvre, for it is unhappily in human nature to do more
for a Pompadour than for a virtuous Queen.'

We learn from BrantAme that Catherine de' Medicis, who made

her first public entry into Paris as queen in 1549, introduced into the

French court the Italian feather-fans, in general use in Italy at that

144

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

period ; these being made and sold by the perfumers who came in the
queen's retinue. In a half-length engraved portrait in the British Museum,
the queen bears a plumed fan with an elaborately ornamented handle
garnished with pearls; in another portrait, a plumed fan with a mirror
in the centre. Brantdme records that, upon the untimely death of
the king, her husband, Catherine caused to be put round her device J
broken fans, with the feathers falling to pieces and the mirror
cracked;2 this in token of having abandoned worldly frivolities. In a
small oval engraved portrait in the British Museum collection, this
broken fan motif is introduced as forming a diapered border; the fans
alternated with twisted cords and scythes.

It is not until the reign of Henry in., that we find the first authentic
evidence of the use of l'eventail plisse ; fans were then much in fashion,
and, says Henri Estienne, 'were held so much in esteem, that, now the
winter is come, the ladies cannot give them up, but having used them
in summer to cool themselves against the heat of the sun, they make
them serve in winter against the heat of the fire.'3

Pierre de l'Estoile, in his Isle des Hermaphrodites, 1588, gives
us a detailed account of the fan used by this effeminate monarch,
evidently some form of cockade, 'expanding and folding merely by a
turn of the fingers.' It was sufficiently large to be used also as a
parasol, and served therefore the double purpose of cooling the air, and
preserving the delicate complexion of the king.

The material was vellum, cut as delicately as possible, with lace
around of similar stuff.4 ' I could see in the other chambers,' continues

1 Qui estoit un raontagne de chaux vive sur laquelle les gouttes d'eau du del tumboient a foison
et disoient les mots tels en latin :

' Ardorem extincta testantur vivere flamma.'

2 Des eventails et pennaches rompus des carquans brises et ses pierreries et perles espandues par terre
les chaisnes toutes en pieces !

3 Deux Dialogues du nouveau Langage Francois, 1578.

4 II etoit d'un velin aussi delicatement decoupe qu'il etoit possible avec la dentelle a l'entour de
pareille etoffe.

T 145

HISTORY OF THE FAN

this author, ' fans of the same material, or of taffetas, with borders of
gold and silver lace.'

This art of elaborate cutting, in vellum, paper, and other material,
was, as a matter of fact, a favourite pastime of the period ; it is said to
have been indulged in by the king himself, and it may be taken that this
method of ddconpd, or ddcoupd in association with other forms of
ornamentation, was employed in a large number of the fans of this
epoch, both of the cockade and semicircular form.

Of this latter type, now beginning to be the vogue, the Actaeon
fan in the Musee de Cluny is one of the earliest known examples. The
leaf is of parchment, cut in a series of slits through which the ten
sticks, shaped to an ornamental profile, are inserted. The vellum around
the sticks is painted to the shape of arrows ; the spaces between are cut
away, to allow of the insertion of strips of mica, upon which are painted
devices representing Actaeon, his hounds, a stag, a swan, etc. The general
character of the ornamentation is that of the earlier French Renaissance ;
the date, c. 1580.

The fan industry in France had become of such importance under
Henry iv., that it was necessary to regulate it by statute; certain
concessions were therefore granted in December 1594 to the several bodies
of craftsmen engaged in the art of fan-making. These were confirmed,
and fresh regulations added, towards 1664.

On a petition presented to Louis xiv. in 1673 by the master fan-
makers to the number of sixty, they were constituted a corporate body
by the edict of March 23rd of that year, and their privileges further
strengthened by edicts of December 1676 and January and February 1678.
These ordained that the company should be ruled by four jurors, two of
whom were re-nominated every year in September in an assembly at which
every master could assist irrespectively. No one could be a master

without having served four years' apprenticeship and having produced

146

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

a chef-d'oeuvre. Nevertheless, the sons of a master were exempt from
the chef-d'oeuvre as well as the members who married the widows or
daughters of masters. The widows enjoyed the privileges of their
departed husbands so long as they remained single. They could not,
however, engage new apprentices. The entrance fee was fixed at four
hundred livres.

In 1753, the period of the highest development of the industry, there
were no less than one hundred and fifty master fan-makers in Paris, and
from a rare book {fournal du Citoyen), published at the Hague in 1754,
we learn the prices usually obtained : Wooden fans (les eVentails de
bois de palissandre), 6 to 18 livres a dozen ; fans in gilt wood (bois d'or),
9 to 36 livres a dozen ; those partly of wood and partly of ivory (les
maistres brins en yvoire et la gorge en os), 24 to 72 livres a dozen. Ivory
fans, 48 to 60 livres a dozen ; others more elaborate sold for 30 or 40 pistoles
apiece.

The fan-makers were united with the wood-polishers and lute-makers
by the edict of August nth, 1776, as was also the painting, carving, and
varnishing relative to these crafts.

The proportions of the folded fan have varied considerably at different
periods, in obedience to the caprices of fashion, and this, together with other
features, is a general indication as to date. An attempt is here made, by
means of a series of diagrams, to formulate, from well-authenticated
examples, a system of development ; but this can only be accepted in a
general way, since during most periods, and especially during the eighteenth
century, many exceptions to this rule might be cited.

During the last half of the sixteenth century, doubtless, the general pro-
portion of the fan was that of a fourth of a circle. Alex. Fabri, 1593, gives
the costume of the French ladies of his time and of older date, and observes
that these ladies held fans of a quarter circle plissds. Vecellio, 1600, gives
fans of a similar proportion. These were both brisd and leaf; the fans of

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Ferrara, decorated with mica insertion, were also of this shape. At this
same period, fans were also made of a slightly extended width, the Actaeon
fan of Cluny being an example.

155°

1550-1620

1620-1650

1660-1700

1680-1740

■ 720-1760

1780

The width was gradually extended during the first half of the seven-
teenth century, until, at the close of the reign of Louis xin., it had attained
almost a full semicircle, the engraved fans of Abraham Bosse being
authentic instances.

During the reign of the Grand Monarque the mount is deep, the

shoulder, as a consequence, low; the fan, after a slight reduction, again

opening out to a full semicircle. The blades, which in the first half of the

seventeenth century varied in France from four to eighteen, had increased

148

Cepfvalits <SL Aa^rorcL, Frcn^k*

■M *"* £}<^C-tL*>f/fbe^*7i

f~jjfA

Vernis Marti7v.

M^FB.AL

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

by the end of the century to twenty-four or twenty-six, the number
again falling to between eighteen to twenty-one by the middle of the
succeeding century. During the reign of Louis xv. the width of the fan
was lessened, being reduced to one-third of a circle, the shoulder being
raised about 1720, thus leaving less space for the mount, the blades number-
ing eighteen to twenty-two.

In the succeeding reign (Louis xvi.) the fan once again unfolded itself
to a full semicircle ; the blades were either straight and narrow, the incrusta-
tions of a correspondingly reticent character, or very broad, showing no
space between, the decorations extremely ornate ; their number in either
instance varying from twelve to sixteen or eighteen.

The above scale of proportion is, however, by no means absolute ; we
have fans with high shoulders, and correspondingly shallow mounts during
the period of Louis xiv. ; we also have, during the same period, fans which
open out only to the third of a circle.

The size of the folding-fan has also been subject to many variations.
From the period of its introduction it increased under Louis xiv., fluctuated
to the middle of the eighteenth century, and gradually lessened its propor-
tions to the period of the Revolution and First Empire.

In 1729 the Due de Richelieu writes : ' Small fans have quite gone out,
and the newest are bigger than ever. Ladies are now never without them,
summer or winter.' From the Mercure de France, October 1730, we learn
that ' Many fans are of a very considerable price and excessively large, so that
some little folks are not quite twice the height of their own fans, a circum-
stance which ought to fill with a due sense of respect the light and
playful cavaliers.' This continued during the hoop period or second
blossoming of the whalebone petticoat, when the fan, not to be outdone,
assumed similar vast proportions, and again dwindled to such an extent
that it acquired the name of ' imperceptible.'

Another important consideration in determining the date of a fan is

149

HISTORY OF THE FAN

in the fact that the sticks, being of a more enduring substance than the
mount, have often been remounted with paintings of a later date ; ' the
careful collector will, therefore, in selecting a specimen, consider the fan
in all its various characteristics — the style of the painting, and the
general character of its ornamentation.

Mr. S. Redgrave, in his catalogue of the fans exhibited at South
Kensington in 1870, refers to the difficulty in assigning fans to the country
to which their manufacture might be most correctly attributed : ' Workmen
of one country have been tempted to another ; Chinese carvers brought to
Europe ; parts of fans in which a particular country has excelled have been
imported to another, and used with its native manufacture. In all cases,
novel taste, approved by fashion, has never failed to become the object of
universal imitation.'

The art of painting during the reign of Louis xm. began to play a
more important part in the decoration of fans ; the subject, in the few
examples existing of this epoch, being usually enclosed in a florid
cartouche with festoons of fruit, flowers, amorini, etc., as in the three
engraved examples by Abraham Bosse, who was working in Paris at this
period. Indeed it is extremely probable that the publication of these fans
strongly influenced the character of the decoration of fan mounts ; it is
more than possible that Bosse himself painted fans, since he was painter
as well as engraver, although his pictures are extremely rare. The label,
' Iiventails de Bosse,' appearing on the box handed by the merchant to
the lady in the engraving ' La Galerie du Palais,' may quite conceivably
refer to painted as well as engraved fans.

La Galerie du Palais, besides forming the subject of Bosse's engraving,
supplied Corneille with the motif of one of his comedies produced in 1634.
' La Galerie ' was situated in the midst of the city, beside the Palais de

1 There are instances in which this order is reversed, the leaf having been preserved and mounted
on more modern sticks.

I50

Is
\3

%
§

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

Justice, between the two branches of the Seine, and had become, at the close

of the reign of Henry iv., a 'lively and animated centre.'

In the latter years of the reign of Louis xm. it was, as we learn from

the explanatory verses at the foot of Bosses engraving, as also from

Corneille's comedy, a place of rendezvous for, and assignations with, the

beau-monde.

' Icy faisant semblant d'acheter devant tous
Des gands, des Eventails, du ruban, des danteles ;
Les adroits Courtisans se donnent rendez-vous,
Et pour se faire aimer, gallantisent les Belles.'

It was furnished with wooden shops in which were arranged objcts de
luxe, new fashions, chefs-dceuvres of industry, laces, and jewellery.

The engraving shows a mercer's shop with a cavalier and lady
examining fans, these objects being also exposed to view in the window.
We have here a genuine bit of old Paris of the time of Louis xiii.,
and thus obtain a clear idea of what the Paris fan shops were like at
this epoch.

Fans had, indeed, at this period obtained a firm hold upon the
affections of the fair, though not so firm as to preclude the possibility
of a powerful rival. The witty author of the lines appended to Bosse's
engraving of Summer, in the circular composition of the four seasons,
a lady with a fan, accompanied by a Cupid bearing a parasol, suggests that
the love-god himself would be a better substitute for the fan, not only for
cooling the heated cheek, but also to assuage the fire that burns within.

' Qu'n eventail dans la chaleur
Semble oster de cette couleur
Dont votre teint rougit encore ;
Vous ressemblez presque a l'aurore
A cause de cette rougeur
Mais dans cette simple douleur
Qui semble afliger votre cceur
Est-ce tout ce qui vous honore
Qu'n eventail ?

151

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Changez viste votre maleur
Et sans me cr6re caioleur
Aimable Phylis que j'adore
Croiez, qu'au feu qui vous deuore
Un home vous servit meilleur
Qu'n eventail.'

Authenticated examples of Louis xm. fans are exceedingly rare. In
the Jubinal collection at Paris is a superb fan painted on skin, representing
the king playing blind-man's buff with the four quarters of the globe.
This is designed upon the same principle as the three engraved fans of
Bosse above referred to, i.e. the subject enclosed in a large and elaborate
cartouche, filling the whole field of the fan, a system of decoration which
lasted well into the reign of Louis xiv.

The Countess de Beaussier exhibited at South Kensington, in 1870, a
mount of vellum painted with a large medallion or cartouche in the centre,
of lords and ladies of the court of France joining in a dance in a park,
the border enriched with coloured ornament in the style of the period.

During the earlier part of the reign of Louis xm., Anne of Austria,
his queen, introduced many Spanish fashions into France, amongst them
being fans.

It is recorded of this princess that, during a conference with Richelieu,
some kittens amused themselves with the ribbons of her fan which had
been left on a table in the antechamber ; from this circumstance the ribbons
acquired the name of Badins (playful).1

It was from a similar light incident that, later, at the time of the
unpopularity of Mazarin, the fan became a means of expressing political
intrigue. Straw was adopted as the rallying sign of the Frondeurs, who,
after the victory in Paris, wore it in their hats and button-holes.

1 Ribbons constantly appear on the fans depicted in Bosse's engravings, either at the side, half-way
up the panache, or at the rivet.

152

»s

«1

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

' If without straw a man was seen,
Strike him down! was the general scream,
For 'tis but a dog of a Mazarine.'

A great crowd was applauding the king and princess in the great
allege, and crying out against Mazarin. Mademoiselle had appeared holding
a fan as she walked, to which was attached a bouquet of straw bound with
blue ribbon.

Straw also formed part of the decoration of fans, both at this period
and later. The pattern of leaves, flowers, fruits, or conventional ornament,
was cut in various coloured straws and applied. The handsome fan in
the possession of Lady Bristol, with the subject of Hector and Andromache,
after Antoine Coypel, belonging, however, to a later period, is decorated
at the sides with coloured straw-work. This material was even employed
in the decoration of the stick in the form of inlay upon ivory and other
substance; an example occurs in the collection of Mr. L. C. R. Messel.
This also of a much later period.

DAlembert, in his Reflexions et Anecdotes sur la Reine de Suede,
recounts how the irascible, fierce, and railing daughter of Gustavus
Adolphus found herself at the court of Louis xiv., when the fashion of
fans was general (1656- 1657). Consulted by a fair Frenchwoman as to
whether she should ply her fan even during the winds of winter, Christina
replied that the lady might fan herself or not, as she pleased ; either way
she would be a straw blown about by the wind. Upon this, the court
dames, nettled at the rude reply of the haughty mistress of Monaldeschi,
one and all armed themselves with fans, and waved them furiously when-
ever the queen was present, by way of exhibiting a wholesome French
contempt for northern barbarism.1

1 The well-known story of the portrait of Christina, painted by Michael Dahl, may be given. One
day, while the Queen was sitting to him, she asked him what he intended to put in her hand. ' A fan,
please your Majesty.' 'A fan ! ' exclaimed Christina, starting up with a tremendous oath. ' A fan !— A
lion, man, is fitter for the Queen of Sweden.'

The Order of the Fan was instituted later by Louisa Ulrica, in 1744, for the ladies of the Swedish
court, in which the sterner sex was afterwards included.

U 153

HISTORY OF THE FAN

This circumstance led to the adoption of fans of a richer and more
ornate description. Fashion hastened to make the toy worthy of figuring in
grand adornment ; the ordinary wood of the stick was replaced by other
supports of a more precious material, with incrustations of gold, silver,
enamel, and jewels. More capable artists were employed for the execution
of the mounts; the eventaillistes learnt from the Italians to derive their
inspiration from the great masters of their school. The decoration of
the fan-leaves, therefore, acquired something of the suavity, graciousness,
and courtliness associated with the work of the painters of the Grand Siecle.
It was, doubtless, some such fan, some enchanting reminiscence of
the dainty ' putti ' of Poussin, that Madame de Sevignd sent to her
daughter, Madame de Grignan. — 'The Chevalier de Buous brings you a
fan, which I think very pretty: they are not little loves upon it, for
without doubt they are little chimney-sweeps, the most charming little
sweeps in the world.' x

Two fans are known of the beginning of the reign of the Grand
Monarque. One, of which only the feuille is preserved, is in the possession
of Mr. J. G. Rosenberg, of Karlsruhe, the other in the Schreiber collection,
British Museum. The former is painted in gouache on swan skin, and
represents the signing of the marriage contract between Louis xiv. and
Maria Theresa, which event took place at St. Jean de Luz on the Spanish
frontier in 1660. The king and queen are seated before a table in the
centre, the courtiers standing in a semicircle, the men in their fur-
trimmed robes, the ladies all bearing fans ; an official in the foreground
is reading aloud the marriage contract. The pattern of the carpet is seized
upon as a decorative motif, and forms a diapered groundwork to the
composition after the manner of the earlier miniaturists. This truly
magnificent mount betrays no evidence of the Italian influence ; no
suggestion of ' le premier peintre du Roi,'2 but entirely reminiscent

1 Letter 491, 8 Mai 1676. 2Le Brun was appointed 'premier peintre' in 1662, with twelve thousand francs a year.

154

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

of the great traditional French style. It is, moreover, an original pro-
duction, rather than, as is the case of so many fan leaves, a mere tran-
scription of the work of the greater artists.

In the Schreiber fan leaf, the king and queen are seated under a
canopy, a Cupid above bearing a rose garland and palm branch. The
ladies of the court, all holding fans, are seated around in a semicircle, and
on the right Cupids prepare the nuptial couch. This leaf, which has been
much repainted, is in gouache on paper, with gilding in places ; it has been
removed from the mount and pasted on an oak panel.

On a later fan, the king is represented as Phcebus descending from
his chariot, holding in his hand the mirror of truth to the assembled
court beauties, on whose countenances fear, alarm, and doubt appear. A
figure on the right (Louise de la Valliere) opens her arms eagerly to
receive him.

The king also appears as Endymion sleeping on Mount Latmos.
La Valliere, in the character of Diana, is alighting from her chariot and
contemplating the beautiful shepherd. A figure of Spring scatters flowers.
In the background two attendants of the goddess; c. 1660.

Mr. Robert Walker in his sale catalogue (1882) suggests that these two
fans, the sticks of which have perished and have been replaced by those of
old English workmanship, were painted for the Duchess de la Valliere
in the early time of her attendance at the court of Anne of Austria. She
is said to have formed a real and virtuous attachment to the king.

A fan mount in the Schreiber collection, also belonging to the earlier
years of the reign of Louis xiv., has for its subject the ' Lovers' Agency
Bureau.' In the midst of a semicircular temple, on an island surrounded
by a flowered border, is a golden statue of Cupid seated upon a globe,
bearing a banner inscribed, ' L' Amour Avec ces traits Veut blesser tout
Le monde. Je Reigne dans les sieux Sur la terre et Sur londe.' Cupids
are seated at a table covered with green cloth, serving amorous couples

155

HISTORY OF THE FAN

with tablets inscribed, 'Conge- Pour Un Amant Constant: Conge" Pour
Un Fidelle'; ' Conge" pour La Belle Iris.' In front of the table a Cupid
is seated on a large crimson cushion, holding a scroll inscribed, ' Le
Directeur Du Bureau D'amour.' Two figures are kneeling at the end
of the table, the one holding a purse, the other a scroll inscribed, ' Contract
De Constitution De Rente.' In the foreground on either side are couples
who have married for money — a young man holding a purse is accom-
panied by an elderly woman, and an old man who supports himself on
a crutch, accompanied by a young woman, is carrying a box labelled
' Bijouteri ' ; in both instances a Cupid follows them with a rod for punish-
ment. Around the island are moored ships with banners inscribed, ' Vous
qui cherchez D'un Amoureux Desir,' etc.

The fan leaf has been pasted on an oval panel and repainted to com-
plete the shape.

The fine varnish, celebrated in the verse of Voltaire,1 which has
become associated with the name of Martin, was not, properly speaking,
a new invention, but rather a fresh application of an old method.
Attempts had been made during the reign of Louis xiv. to imitate the
lacquers of Japan, and the process was first applied to furniture. In an
inventory of the effects of Moliere we read of a 'small cabinet with
Chinese varnish,' and of ' two dice-boxes of wood, varnished after the
Chinese fashion.' This was the period when the artistic products of
the East were so much exercising the minds of European craftsmen,
as a consequence of the opening up of China and Japan to western
traders.

The four brothers Martin, William, Simon-Etienne, Julien, and
Robert, coach-painters, sons of a tailor of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, in
applying themselves to the task of imitating the processes of Oriental

1 ... 'Courant de belle en belle,

Sous des lambris doris et Vernis par Martin.'

156

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

lacquer, by a fortunate accident developed a method admirably suited to
the decoration of fans, which, in spite of many attempts to imitate, has
never since been rivalled.

Two concessions were obtained — those of November 27, 1730, and
February 18, 1744, permitting the elder Martin, for the space of twenty
years, to execute all sorts of works in relief after the manner of the
Chinese and Japanese.

An advertisement in Le Mercure, which appeared during the year
1724, recommends to the curious the fine productions in Chinese and
Japanese varnish, of this 'excellent and unique craftsman who imitates
and often surpasses his models.'1 In 1732 a fresh announcement is
made in the same journal to the effect that ' Le Sieur Martin the elder,
who may be said to have considerably enriched the beaux-arts in Europe
by imitating and even surpassing in many respects the beautiful varnishes
and reliefs of China and Japan, gives notice to the public that he under-
takes panels, friezes, ceilings, carriages, etc., in splendid varnishings.'

This varnish, with its brilliant translucency, and its remarkable im-
munity from cracking, was applied over painting done in the ordinary
oil method, the painting being necessarily thin, almost to transparency,
the material of the fan usually ivory. The decoration consists of either
a single subject covering the whole field of the fan, or a system of one,
three, or many cartouches, occasionally as many as twenty miniatures,
enclosed in an ornamental setting, made up of a curious mixture of
Chinese diapered patterns, semi-naturalistic semi-Persian ornament,
Italian arabesques, and French ornament of the character with which we
are familiar in Rouen ware.

The guards are in most instances decorated with miniatures, usually
two superior and two inferior, divided by ornamental borders or

1 ' I.es cabinets ou Martin

A surpasse l'art de la Chine.' — Voltaire.

157

HISTORY OF THE FAN

arabesques. On the handle end of the fan, i.e. the smaller semicircle,
are either one, three, or more miniatures, often imitation Chinese subjects :
these, in some instances, are in self-colour, as pink, red, or blue. The
gilding is both in leaf and painted, usually worked over with a pattern
in red or brown.

The figure-painting is in no instance by a master-hand, i.e. by an
artist of the first calibre, but by skilled workmen, or artificers, deriving
their inspiration from outside sources.

The subjects with which these fans were decorated embrace every
class. Thus we have representations of ancient history, both sacred and
profane, subjects which recorded important current events, subjects fanciful
of almost every description.

That of the ' Rape of Helen ' occurs often ; the fine fan in the posses-
sion of Mr. J. G. Rosenberg of Karlsruhe has this subject for its principal
medallion, the style recalling Le Brun, with sixteen smaller subjects from
classic mythology, these divided by a gold band. Also in the beautiful
example in the possession of Lady Lindsay this same subject is treated,
though in a very different manner. (Illustrated facing p. 30.)

In the cabinet of Madame Riant is the 'Judgment of Paris,'
the subject en cartouche, with smaller cartouches in the Chinese
taste.

Probably one of the earliest of these ' Vernis Martin ' fans (ivory brisd
fans had been painted earlier, during the latter part of the sevententh cen-
tury) is the bridal-fan of the Duchess of Burgundy, Adelaide of Savoy,
mother of Louis xv. The subject represents the fetes at Versailles on the
occasion of the marriage of the grandson of Louis xiv. in 1709. On the
obverse the bride appears seated upon a dais with attendants bearing floral
offerings. In the centre the king dances a minuet with Madame de
Maintenon, ' ma tante,' as the dauphin endearingly called her. Other
dancing figures, musicians, etc., complete the composition, which is en-

158

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

closed in a large cartouche of fruits, masks, instruments, etc.; on the field
of the fan are representations of country life.

On the lower semicircle, en cartouche, the bride again appears
playing a guitar, the remaining space being occupied by subjects of a
Chinese character. On the reverse we have a representation of the fetes
in the palace gardens, with scenes from the life of the prince — as pupil
of Fdnelon, and as lover ; miniatures of the prince and princess appear on
the panaches. This important fan has been attributed to the pencil of
Watteau, but with small grounds, being quite unlike the character of
Watteau's work except in the type of some of the figures represented.

The example which formed part of the royal collection at Windsor
Castle is so well known that it scarcely needs description here. It con-
sists of a large number of cartouches of classical and pastoral subjects
divided by gold borderings. It formerly belonged to Marie-Antoinette,
and was procured for Her Majesty Queen Victoria by the Queen of
the Belgians.

The fan representing the ' Toilette of Madame la Marquise de
Montespan,' and ' the Promenade,' in the possession of the Countess
Duchatel, has become historic. It was sent by Madame de Sevigne*
to her daughter, Madame de Grignan, and is thus referred to in her 149th
letter : ' My fan has then become most useful, doubtless. Do you not
think it beautiful? Alas, what a bagatelle! You would not take away
from me this small pleasure when occasion presents itself — you would
thank me for that pleasure, although it is a mere nothing.'

We are enabled, by the courtesy of Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, to
illustrate (facing p. 142) one of the best-preserved examples of this interest-
ing type of fan. The subject represents a company of musicians in a
garden, with trellised background and fountain ; on the lower cartouche a
classical landscape ; on the panaches are figures of Harlequin, Pierrot, etc.,
the ornamental portions being painted with the most minute finish.

159

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Upon the death of the elder Martin in 1749, his widow associated
herself with her brother-in-law, Julien Martin, who was acquainted with
the secrets of this varnish and method. The studio at the entrance to
the Faubourg Saint-Denis, therefore, did not cease to prosper, and pro-
duction went on until 1758. This at least we learn of the engraver
Pasquier, and it seems to us that the most successful varnishes are the
earliest in date — those which appear to have been produced 1720-1745.1

The foregoing quotation refers to Martin's productions generally,
but is equally applicable to the fan, and it is probable that although a
few isolated examples of these delicate objects may have been produced
during the latter years of the reign of Louis xiv., production did not
become very general until later in the lifetime of Martin the elder, who
subsequently received the title of 'Vernisseur du roi.'

The question as to whether the brothers Martin themselves painted
their fans, or to what extent they were indebted to outside assistance,
opens up an interesting field of inquiry. The order of their production,
also, presents considerable difficulties. In some cases, as that of the bridal-
fan of the Duke of Burgundy, the event itself determines the date ; in the
majority of instances, however, the subject affords no clue, and any con-
clusions formed are necessarily more or less speculative and problematical.
The natural order of decorative development is from simplicity to complexity
in both arrangement and detail ; it is therefore reasonable to assume that
the earlier examples are those displaying a certain severity and reticence
of style and method, and a simple arrangement of either one or but few
subjects, and that the later fans are those exhibiting a profusion of
medallions of various sizes, divided by gold bands. The variety in the
style, manner, and handling, of the subjects depicted on these fans, to say
nothing of the number extant, of itself disposes of the theory that they
were all the work of the brothers, but in any case they must be credited

1 Piul Mantz, Gazette ties Beaux-Arts, vol. xx,
l6o

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

with the original conception of a style and method of decoration which,
although it will scarcely bear searching analysis if judged from the stand-
point of strict decorative principles, is fresh, piquant, and unique.

To return to pleated fans. In the Franks collection appeared an
example with the leaf of paper finely painted in gouache, with the betrothal
of Louis xv. with Marie Leczinska, and on the reverse a pastoral scene.
The brins and panaches are of white pearl, richly ornamented with
carved medallions of figures, portraits, heraldry, and scroll-work in
different coloured gold foils. This fan belonged to Marie, queen of
Louis xv.

The bridal-fan of Marie Leczinska has a skin mount, the subject
representing the king and his bride elect, attended by Cardinal Fleury
in lay habit, bringing offerings of flowers to the altar of Hymen ; a dog
(emblem of fidelity) sits beside the king. In the foreground on either
side are groups in rural character ; on the reverse, which is of paper, is
a pastorelle in which the royal couple again appear. The brins and
panaches are of mother-of-pearl, richly carved with a centre medallion
representing the queen as Venus descending from her chariot, receiv-
ing the homage of Mars. Cupids, heraldic devices, fleurs de lys, and
a small medallion of Louis xiv. complete the design, which is enriched
with variegated gilding.

The symbolical marriage of Louis xv. with Marie Leczinska on
Mount Olympus is depicted on a fine mount of vellum in the possession of
M. Voisin, with portraits of the king and princess surrounded by Genii ;
figures of Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo en cartouche, musicians, etc., in rose
camai'eu, surrounded by the arms of France and Poland ; the reverse, a
figure subject in blue camai'eu on silver ground. Stick, ' Vernis Martin '
on ivory ; guards, incrustations of mother-of-pearl.

The fan in the collection of the Dowager-Marchioness of Bristol refers
to the improvements made in Paris during the reign of Louis xv. ; it
x 161

HISTORY OF THE FAN

shows in the distance the fine square (Place de Louis xv.) which adjoined

the Palace of the Tuileries, with the bronze equestrian statue of the

king on a pedestal supported by four statues representing Strength,

Peace, Prudence, and Justice. The group, destroyed during the Revolution,

gave occasion to the following epigram :

' O la belle Statue ! O le beau piedestal !
Les vertus sont a pied, le vice est a cheval ! '

The king, attended by Minerva, who holds her aegis over his head, is giving
directions as to the building to a kneeling figure whose cloak and shield are
ornamented with the fleurs de lys of France. A seated winged genius is
holding a large open book, Cupids are playing musical instruments and
supporting a trophy of arms and a medallion portrait of Louis xiv.
The square will remain for ever memorable as the scene of the execution of
Louis xvi. It was renamed Place de la Revolution.

The stick is of ivory, carved with allegorical subjects, variegated gold
enrichments, the imbricated ornament painted blue, the guards inlaid with
mother-of-pearl ; on the reverse a tent, with soldiers drinking and smok-
ing at a table. Jewelled pin.

Of the fans referring to the courtship and marriage of the dauphin (son
of Louis xv.) we have the royal courtships in two medallions on either
side of the sun in full splendour (emblem of the king), decorated with
spangles ; the mount of skin, the stick ivory, carved in open work with
appropriate figures.

In the centre cartouche of another fan, similar in treatment and

evidently by the same hand, the dauphin and dauphine bring floral

offerings to Hymen, the field of the fan being occupied by two smaller

medallions of Cupids, miniatures of the royal pair, and marriage emblems

at intervals, the cartouches connected by spangles ; the stick ivory, carved

in open work with figures emblematic of the marriage.

The marriage of the dauphin with Maria Theresa of Spain (1745), or his

162

•3
5

"Si -S

■h

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

second wife, Princess Maria Josephe de Saxe, is recorded on a magnificent
mount representing the interior of a chapel, with the bride and bridegroom
on a raised dais, a cardinal performing the ceremony. These three fans
appeared in the Walker sale of 1882.

The Battoir fan (illustrated facing p. 154) would appear to refer to this
Spanish marriage ; it is certainly a marriage fan. The feuille of paper is
decorated with eight variously shaped medallions. In the centre the bride,
who bears a sufficient resemblance to the engraved portraits of Maria Theresa,
is taking tea ; also a heart-shaped composition with two figures kneeling at
the altar of Love, Father Time in the distance ; a lover offering a bouquet
to a lady, etc. The admirably designed stick and guards are of ivory,
carved and gilt, decorated with emblematic figures, amorini, trophies of
musical instruments, etc., bearing the fleurs de lys of France and the arms
of Spain.

The magnificent fan in the possession of Mrs. Bischoffsheim reflects
the general interest taken in the classics during the earlier part of the
eighteenth century. Dryden's English translation of Virgil was given
to the world in 1697, and the Latin edition of P. Masvicius, Leovardiae,
17 17, contained the commentaries of Servius, Philargyrius, and Pierius.
The fan belongs to the earlier years of the reign of Louis xv., and
illustrates the story unfolded in the first book of the Aineid. On the
reverse the storm raised by yEolus at the bidding of Juno, a rock in the
foreground being inscribed ' Naufrage d'Ende' : and the meeting of Venus
and yEneas. On the obverse the banquet :

' Embroidered coverlets
Are laid, and gorgeous purple ; and the boards
Groan with the massive silver.'

The love-god, in the guise of the boy Ascanius, is presented to Dido :

He — after he has clasped Eneas' neck
In fond embrace, and so has satisfied
163

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The doating love of his pretended sire —

Turns to the Queen. Her eyes and all her soul

She fixes on him ; yea, and in her lap

At times she fondles him — unhappy Dido —

Not knowing how great a god is nestling there ! ' '

The so-called ' Cabriolet ' fan, introduced during the reign of Louis xv.,
represents a new and interesting development. In this the mount is
divided into two parts, superior and inferior, the latter being half-way up
the stick, the former in its usual place at the top; the intervening space
imparting a lightness and richness to the fan not obtainable by other
means, the mount still affording a sufficiency of space for decoration on a
less extended scale. This usually consists of Parisian scenes — persons
driving in cabriolets, or promenading, either painted or engraved as the
case may be, since both processes were adopted.

The cabriolet, introduced by Josiah Child in 1755, was a light two-
wheeled carriage which obtained great popularity in Paris. Horace
Walpole, writing to his friend Mann in the same year, says :

' All we hear from France is, that a new madcap reigns there, as strong as that
of Pantins was.1 This is la fureur de cabriolets, Anglice one-horse chairs, a mode
introduced by Mr. Child. Everything is to be en cabriolet; the men paint them on
their waistcoats, have them embroidered for clocks to their stockings, and the women,
who have gone all the winter without anything on their heads, are now muffled up in
great caps, with round sides, in the form of, and scarce less than, the wheels of
chaises.'

Two varieties of these rare fans appear in different collections ; a
larger and richer fan measuring some twenty inches and opening out to
a little more than a third of a circle, the sticks numbering twenty-one,
including the panaches ; another about an inch smaller, with less carving
on the sticks, and made at a later date.

1 Translation by Henry Smith Wright, B.A.

2 'Pantins Mechanique,' a performing figure worked by a string, much in vogue at this period. See
Engraved Fans of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, part i. page 226.

164

■ o

A
H

"3
a.

"a
c

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

The fine example illustrated from the collection of Lady Bristol
has nine cabriolets, two on the larger and three on the smaller paper
mounts, two on the brins, and two on the panaches. The upper portion
of the ivory stick is carved with three series of three figures enclosed in
an ornamental setting, and one on each panache, with ' goldfish ' inlay.
The lower portion has two large cartouches of figure subjects also with
' goldfish ' inlay, and a smaller one painted, the whole of the stick
elaborately painted and gilt. A similar fan is in the possession of the
Comtesse de Chambrun, Paris, and was exhibited at South Kensington
in 1870.

Two examples of the smaller variety are given from the collections
of Lady Northcliffe and Lady Bristol, similar in general character, but
presenting slight differences in detail. On each of these fans only one
cabriolet appears, painted decoration taking the place of the rich carving
and gilding on the stick of the larger fan.

Towards the end of the reign of Louis xv. the fan industry suffered
a temporary relapse: the fashion for the cheaper printed fans, and also
for the importations from the East, spread even to the aristocrats. We read
of a fashionable jeweller at this period undertaking to supply to La
Pompadour a dozen fans direct from Nankin for the insignificant sum
of seventy-two livres. An interesting design for a fan in the Hennin
collection (Bibliotheque Nationale) is probably intended as an effort to
revive interest in the more expensive fans,1 and is inscribed, ' Combat
du terrible torreau repr£sente par des enfants en presence de Sa Majeste
Louis xv., roi de France et de Navarre.' This was a spectacle devised
for the king's amusement in 1760. In an enclosure, a bull-fight, in
which the actors are children, is taking place before a large concourse of
spectators, including the king and queen ; on the left are trumpeters and
other figures, on the right is a figure holding three hounds in leash.

1 Henri Bouchot, ' History on Fans ' (Art and Letters, vol. ii.).

165

HISTORY OF THE FAN

La Pompadour is glorified on a skin mount in the collection of Mrs.
Bruce Johnston ; the subject being ' hommages ' offered by Church, State,
Literature, Art and Music at the altar of madame, who appears as Venus
seated on a raised throne in the centre of the composition, her car and doves
in the background. A Cupid strikes at her bosom with his arrow, others
dance to the music of a mandoline, while another, crowned with a laurel
wreath, rides on the back of the French Eagle. This was probably
painted by one of the numerous artists employed by madame, and
never mounted. (Illustrated facing p. 6.)

The story of Rinaldo and Armida supplied the subject of many
fans produced during the century. Handel's opera Rinaldo was first
produced in London, February 24, 171 1. It was staged in the most
sumptuous manner, the gardens of Armida being filled with live birds, a
piece of stage realism hardly to be surpassed even in these days : it had,
however, little vogue on the Continent, duck's Armide, which appeared
in 1777, fared better, the composer being then in the height of his
popularity, and, moreover, under the powerful protection of his former
pupil, Marie-Antoinette, who, upon the success of Orphte, granted him
a pension of six thousand francs, and a like sum for every fresh work
he should produce on the French stage.

The charming fan, here illustrated, by the gracious permission of
H.R.H. the Princess of Wales, is anterior to the date of the production
of Gluck's opera, and is one of the best of the numerous versions of
the subject. It was given by King William iv. to Augusta, Duchess of
Cambridge, and left by her to her granddaughter, Victoria Mary, Princess
of Wales. (Frontispiece.)

In Miss Moss's fan, also illustrated, the stick is of ivory carved a jour,
and painted with a cartouche in the centre, of Neptune, Venus, and Cupid.

The fetes given on the occasion of the marriage of the young

dauphin, afterwards Louis xvi., with Marie-Antoinette, are recorded

166

•55 «

■A *

£.!

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

on a fan in the Wyatt collection, in the centre of which are shown the
illuminations with fireworks, a scroll inscribed, 'Vive la France, l'empire,
et tous leurs allies a jamais ' ; above is inscribed, ' Feu d'artifice de Mr.
L'ambassadeur Execute le 10 Juin 1770 par le Sr. Torre Artificier du
Roi.' On the left is a street scene with a band of musicians and spectators ;
on the right, four figures viewing the illuminations. A cartouche on the
right is inscribed, ' Fetes Publiques a l'occasion du manage de Mr. le
Dauphin.' The mount is of paper, the stick and guards ivory, pierced
gilt, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. (Illustrated facing p. 180.)

An allegory of this marriage appears as the subject of a fan that
formed part of an important collection of a deceased Parisian lady,
Madame X., sold at the Hotel Drouot, April 1897. In this the stick is
mother-of-pearl, carved with reliefs, gilt, and the arms of France and
Austria. The leaf is in gouache on skin, with medallions of the royal
pair, alternated with others emblematic of the Fine Arts.

Another bridal-fan of Marie-Antoinette has on the obverse an alle-
gorical composition, in which the dauphine, enthroned upon a cloud, is
about to sign the marriage contract which Cupid lays before her,
while Hymen hovers above : on the left, the Graces weave garlands of
roses; on the right, Midas and Discordia are banished to the regions of
obscurity.

On the reverse, Louis and his young bride appear walking in a
wood, guided by Cupid, blind, and bearing a torch. Both these subjects
have been attributed to Fragonard ; they are, however, most certainly
by two different hands. The stick is mother-of-pearl, carved a jour,
with figures of the royal couple, cupids, and other appropriate emblems.

The custom of presenting fans on the occasion of a wedding was

universal, and surely no more acceptable offering than a fan could be

made to a bride. The fine fan, illustrated by the kindness of the

Countess of Bradford, is typical of a whole class of fans produced during

167

HISTORY OF THE FAN

the latter years of the reign of Louis xvi., having silk mounts, with
painted medallions, usually one superior, and the other inferior ; the
borders and intervening spaces decorated with spangles of gold, silver,
and colours ; the sticks either broad and ornate as in the example given,
or narrow ; the ornamentation being of a more reticent character.

The principal medallion figures the prospective bride and bridegroom
nursing a figure of Love. On the extremely ornate mother-of-pearl stick,
lavishly gilt in dead and burnished gold of two colours, the happy
pair again appear clasping hands before the altar of Hymen, with an
accompaniment of Cupids ; on the two inferior cartouches are dancing
figures with wreaths, spangling being applied here as on the leaf. The
fan appeared at the recent exhibition of Fair Women at the Grafton
Galleries, where it attracted much attention.

On the occasion of the birth of the dauphin, (Louis xvn.) in 1785,
eleven years after the marriage, the royal pair renew their vows at the
altar of Hymen. This on a fan from the unfortunate queen's collection,
which, together with the last mentioned, appeared at the Walker sale
in 1882 ; the mount skin, the stick mother-of-pearl, carved in open with
portraits of the queen and the young dauphin.

The fan (brisd) presented by the town of Dieppe to Marie-Antoinette,
in celebration of the same event,1 is declared by Balzac to be the hand-
somest of all historical fans. It is of ivory open work, carved by the
famous worker Le Flamand, eulogised by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. The
subject, from the design for Vien, premier peintre to Louis xvi., is an
episode in the life of Alexander the Great. Porus, an Indian prince, on
the eastern bank of the Hydaspes, refused to submit to Alexander, but,
defeated and taken prisoner, he was brought into the presence of the con-

1 A congratulatory address on this occasion was offered to the Queen by the market-women of Paris,
written by M. de la Harpe on the inside of the fan of the spokeswoman, to which she repeatedly
referred without the least embarrassment. — Henry F. Holt, Journal of the Archtcological Association,
vol. xxvi.

168

JTC17V stlCK, Irory, carved witL *u£>Je<.t ^ ' tk Ajjmfu efjVo~ti2.6Uj ff<f7,
figures ofZ^ctU* jLVJ & Adarte. AnZcinettt on^pan^xch^s.

Photo by A. Giranthr.
■j. '.--■ a4*'/^o*^y-re-.

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

queror. Asked how he expected to be treated, he boldly replied, 'As a
brave man and a king.' Alexander, subdued by his foe's firmness, restored
to him his conquered territory.

When the queen was obliged to quit Versailles in 1789, she gave
this fan to Madame du Cray, who was keeper of her Majesty's laces.
From Madame du Cray it passed into the possession of her daughter,
Madame la Bruyere, who, at her death, bequeathed it to Monsieur de
Thiac, by whom it was exhibited at South Kensington in 1870.

The ivory stick — the mount has long since perished, if it ever pos-
sessed one — acquired by the Louvre, and formerly in the collection Revoil,
in 1828, is said to have been once the property of Marie- Antoinette. The
brins carved are with a subject of the king, with the two royal princes on
his right hand, receiving a deputation of ministers, the whole enclosed
within a florid and meandering cartouche, the background and diapers
a jour. On the panaches appear figures of Louis and Marie-Antoinette,
above their heads two genii bear the royal crown ; on the gorge are
medallions of Cupids, with tragic and comic masks.

Here, then, we have two typical examples of the ivory work of the
last quarter of the eighteenth century, the best, presumably, that the
epoch could produce, since both were executed for the queen.

The last named, last also in the order of production, although it

carries picturesque richness of effect to its utmost possible limit,

nevertheless represents a worn-out tradition, an art which had become

moribund, lifeless, incapable of any fresh effort, repeating the same

tiresome platitudes with wearing and monotonous persistency; the

former, on the other hand, indicative of the commencement of that

regeneration of French art, which, inaugurated by Vien, ultimately

resulted in the creation of a school of painting and design, finding, in

the vitality of its poetic invention, no parallel in modern Europe, and

making its influence felt even to the present day.
y 169

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The reign of Spartan simplicity of dress commenced early, and was
brought about by several causes, the first being the visit to Paris of
the American deputies, headed by Benjamin Franklin, 1776-78. Thus
Count de Segur in his ' Memoirs ' : ' It was as if the sages of Greece and
Rome had suddenly appeared ; their antique simplicity of dress, their firm
and plain demeanour, their free and direct language, formed a contrast to
the frivolity, effeminacy, and servile refinements of the French. The tide
of fashion and nobility ran after these republicans, and ladies, lords, and
men of letters all worshipped them.'

Among other contributory causes was the publication of Saint-Pierre's
novel, Paul et Virginie, in which the heroine is described as being attired
in a simple robe of white muslin, with plain straw hat, a picture which
instantly captivated the Parisiennes. Moreover, the classic revival which
set in about the middle of the century had gathered force, so that
by the commencement of the Revolution the time had become ripe for a
complete change. While the ladies were attired a la Grec, the gentle-
men cropped their hair a la Romain.

The fan followed the prevailing order of things, and affected sim-
plicity. During the period of the Directoire, and the Empire which
succeeded, the painted mounts gradually disappeared, their place being
taken by those of silk of various colours, ornamented with spangles and
similar devices.

The mount of Miss Ethel Birdwood's fan, an excellent example of
the simple type, is most certainly French, obtained in France by the
grandparents of Sir George, who were expelled Huguenots, and sent out
by them to Canton to be mounted. The stick is admirably in keeping
with the reticent character of the mount, and exhibits no trace of the
characteristic Oriental vice of excess in ornamental detail.

It was inevitable that a system of decoration so easy of application,

and at the same time so effective as spangling, should have an extended

170

Dtrectotre f^LTLt preen, silk 7T\otL.Tit,st><**ujud

rnctker of bearL slvcJ*. ca.r-vecL <

<X 10LCT-.

tSarusGerie cC Jytr^e^toire Funs ; rcdjlik mount*,

sticks ivory and eoan-y Tej&e^r-LveLy .

/Wurrf It'thcl 7ra.r&nrjE$^*'d+*00<£'-

MrUZRJ*l~*U.

jScltls Gene Fart ,

i-&aj a r&c n Jt-

■Uk MritA. -rvynT-e cT

Emptre TLZTl, Uaf red silk r*tth hand of net £ er/v*t7nen.t~
*,n ooL*.{.§ si.L*e.T* cZ .< pctTx*jL*z-s t jticJ*. t-vory, Zxinf*. ct

Air LCJZJiUssd.

c-rrm^rcm. .

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

vogue. The device was first introduced as a framework to pictures or
miniatures en cartouche, and as emphasising the leading lines of a
design. Gradually a more lavish use of these glistening ornaments was
made, until, during the Directoire and Empire periods, spangling formed
the chief decorative motif of the design ; figures being treated with
spangled draperies, the flesh painted. In the Directoire fan illustrated,
with Ceres in a chariot drawn by two bullocks, spangling is carried to its
utmost limit, the whole subject, figures, animals, chariot, and accessories,
being treated with these little gold and silver discs of varying sizes.

This refers to the F£te de l'Agriculture celebrated by the adminis-
tration of the department of the Seine 10 messidor an vi. (28 June 1798).
A lavishly ornamented car drawn by six bullocks, their hoofs and horns
gilded, the whole decorated with wreaths of flowers, was accompanied by
the Free Trade Society of Agriculture, and the administrators of the
Natural History Museum and Veterinary School, carrying agricultural
implements, surmounted by a sheaf of corn, over which floated the
oriflamme of France ; their destination being the Temple dedicated to
Cybele in the middle of the grand square of the Champs Elysees.

The ancient form of the chariot, says Blondel, the groups of
stationary guards with entwined arms, indicating thereby that those
around cultivate and defend the fields, serve equally to represent agricul-
ture to the imagination and the ancient fetes that fertile Phrygia celebrated
in honour of the goddess of Harvests at the foot of Mount Ida. The
event was commemorated on a number of fans, both painted in gouache
and printed ; Blondel figures one in the possession of the heir of Madame
Tallien, printed and coloured by hand, erroneously supposing it to refer
to this event ; 1 in this instance also, as in the example illustrated facing
p. 136, two bullocks only are represented.

This glorification of Ceres and Cybele led to the general adoption

1 See Engraved Fans of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries, page 227.

171

HISTORY OF THE FAN

of straw for the various articles of costume, following an older fashion.
'There is nothing but straw in the impoverished dresses of the ladies,'
exclaim MM. de Goncourt in their Socidtd Francaise pendant le
Directoire, echoing a curious vaudeville of the period, ' mob caps of straw,
bonnets of straw, fans of straw, and spangles — nothing is made without
spangles.'

' Paillette aux bonnets,

Aux toquets,
Aux petits corsets !

Paillette
Aux fins bandeaux,
Aux grands chapeaux !

Paillette
Aux noirs colliers,
Aux blancs souliers !

Paillette
Paillette aux rubans,

Aux turbans,
On ne voit rien sans

Paillette.'

In the ' Sans Gfine ' fan, with figure of an opera dancer, the dress of
the lady is pink gauze. The material of the leaf (green silk) is cut away,
leaving the dress semi-transparent in those parts which are not overlaid
with spangles.

During the Empire period and later, this system of the introduction

of gauze or net was carried further, fans being treated with a broad

border of net, and various applied decorations in gold, silver, and spangles,

these being the precursors of the fans made entirely of gauze or net,

decorated in a similar manner, and in vogue during the first quarter of

the nineteenth century.

Lorgnette or opera-glass fans are evidence of a fashion that obtained

172

£•* V „..

v .• ■••• • •

J,.«i\ %g' '..*•• .... i

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

during the seventeenth and again during the latter half of the eighteenth
centuries. M. Blondel quotes from Menagiana as follows : —

'The fans a jour carried by the women, when they go to Porte
Saint-Bernard to take the air on the bank of the river, are called
"lorgnettes." '

A paper called Ndcessaire, for 1759, refers to this means of satisfying
pardonable curiosity without wounding modesty. A small opera- or spy-
glass was set in the chief sticks of the fan, either at the top of the panache,
probably the earliest form, or at the rivet. In the former case the whole
of the blades were perforated, the fan when opened showing a series
of circular perforations round its upper border. The advantage of such an
arrangement will be obvious ; a fair reveller might see without being seen,
and the tell-tale blush be hid. For more distant objects the opera-glass was
called into requisition, the fan used either open or closed.

' Pour cacher la pudeur d'usage
Contre un beau front le papier sert
Et les brins forment un passage
Par 011 l'oeil voyage a couvert.' 1

The material was either ivory, horn, or occasionally, in the case of the
semicircular folding-fans, gauze, decorated with spangles or embroidered
work.

The brisds were made to the semicircular shape, and also to that of
the full circle or cockade. In the latter instance the long handle was
provided with circular loops, by which the fan might be held in the same
manner as a pair of scissors.

The blades assume various shapes, as that of Love's arrow, the bat's
wing, an umbrella, a snake, a violin, and, when made of horn, were usually
decorated with ' piqueV

1 Menagiana.
1 73

HISTORY OF THE FAN

A curious and uncommon lorgnette-fan of the period of Louis xiv., in
the possession of Madame Jubinal, is entirely of ivory ' d^coupe" a jour,'
with appliques in gelatine imitating mica, forming a transparency through
which roguish eyes may see and at the same time be protected as with
a curtain. A semicircular lorgnette-fan, of fine design, is seen in the hands
of Madame Devaucay, in the portrait by Ingres, collection of M. Frdide'ric
Reiset, painted 1806.

These interesting fans remained in vogue during the first quarter
of the nineteenth century and later.

The last stage of the fan during this foolish, frivolous, fascinating
eighteenth century was that of a gradual dwindling into nothingness.

Madame de Genlis, in her Dictionary of Etiquette (1818), remarks:
' When women were timid and blushed, they were accustomed to carry large
fans to hide their blushes, serving at once as screen and veil : now that they
blush no longer, and are intimidated by nothing, they do not choose to hide
their faces, and therefore carry but microscopic fans {dventails im-
perceptibles).'1

Blondel states that 'this small degree of fashion continued under the
First Empire, when fans, still very small, were for the most part brisds or
garnished with taffalas ; a few, however, were embellished with steel pearls,
like the jewels of Petit Dunkerque.'

We have seen how, during the period of the balloon petticoat, the fan,
like the frog in the fable, anxious to outdo his big neighbour the ox, swelled
— and swelled — and swelled. The consequences were less disastrous in the
case of the fan, which is nothing if not consistent. The small imps of the
fan tribe carried by those truly miraculous creatures the Merveilleuses,
whose costume was reduced to such exceedingly scanty proportions that

1 Pope had, nearly a century earlier, made allusion to the discontinuance of the fashion :
' The modest fan was lifted up no more,
And virgins smiled at what they blushed before.'

174

s a

5-1

'- v

3 S

PAINTED FANS (FRENCH)

a Frenchman even was moved to inquire if nudity would not have been a
gain to modesty, were in perfect keeping with the tout ensemble. The fan
lessened its proportions, grew more and more imperceptible as the rest of
the costume grew scantier, until, as in the example in the collection of Mr.
L. C. R. Messel, the blades measured but two and a half inches!

JAPANESE LADY'S COURT FAN, WrTH STREAMERS. (Ethnological Museum, Berlin.)

175

CHAPTER VIII

PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES. ENGLISH, DUTCH, FLEMISH, AND GERMAN.

THE history of the folded fan in England may,
broadly speaking, be said to date from the establish-
ment of the East India Company in 1600 ; this
event marking the commencement of that Oriental
trade which assumed such vast proportions during
the succeeding century. Isolated examples of the
pleated fan had, however, found their way into this
country earlier, these either brought by individual
traders from the East, or imported from the Con-
tinent of Europe. We have already referred to the
remarkable instance of the pleated fan appearing
on the great seal of England, forming the crest
of Cceur de Lion ; a conclusive proof that this
form of fan was at any rate known, if not in
occasional use, in this country during the Middle
Ages.
The plumed fan, nevertheless, held its own for a considerable period,
although it is extremely unlikely that it was much in vogue before the
reign of Henry vin., when we are informed that 'even young gentlemen
carried fans of feathers in their hands, which in wars our ancestors wore on
their heads.'1 Shakespeare refers to 'those remnants of fool and feather

1 Steevens.
I76

LONG-HANDLED FEATHER-FAN
(Used in the Marie Stuart dance,)

i L

i? ■> i

»3£

a Sv-8

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

that they have got from France.' So, also, Stephen Gosson, Pleasant
Quips for upstart Gentlewomen, 1596 :

' Were fannes and flappes of feathers fond

To flit away the flisking flies,
As tail of mare that hangs on ground

When heat of Summer doth arise,
The wit of women we might praise

For finding out so great an ease.

' But, seeing they are still in hand,

In house, in field, in church, in street,
In summer, winter, water, land,

In cold, in heate, in dry, in weet,
I judge they are for wives such tooles

As babies are for playes for fooles.'

The author of Quips for an upstart Courtier, 1620, drawing a com-
parison between the degeneracy of his time and the purer manners of an
earlier period, says : ' Then our young courtiers strove to exceed one another
in vertue and in bravery ; they rode not with fannes to ward their faces
from the wind.'

In Hall's Satires, 1598, describing the dandies of his day:

' Tir'd with pinn'd cuffs, and fans, and partlet stryps.'

In the play of Lingua, or The Combat of the Tongue and the Five
Senses for Superiority, 161 7, the following directions are given for the
character of Phantastes at the head of the second scene of Act 11.

' A swart complexion'd fellow, but quicke-ey'd, in a white Satten doublet of one
fashion, green Velvet hose of another ; a phantasticall hat with a plume of fethers of
severall colours, a little short Taffata cloake, a paire of Buskins cut, drawne out with
sundry coloured Ribands with Scarfes hung about him after all fashions, and of all
colours. Rings, Jewels, a Fanne, and in every place odde complements.'

In the woodcut headings to the Roxburghe Ballads (c. 1635), both

feather- and folding-fans are shown ; the frequent illustration of these

instruments testifying to the popularity of the fan at this epoch. The
z 177

HISTORY OF THE FAN

first appearance of the modern fan, says Fairholt, may be seen in a
print of the early part of the seventeenth century. The long handle is
still retained, and the fan, although arranged in folds, does not appear
to be capable of being folded. The fans here referred to are those seen
in the prints by Vecellio and earlier engravers, small in size, referred to
and illustrated in a previous chapter.1

It is not until the last decade of the sixteenth century that the
folded fan appears in painted portraits, one of the earliest being that of
Queen Elizabeth at Jesus College (1590), in which the Queen holds a
decoupe" fan of the character of that illustrated from Cluny, facing
page 109, having similar pointed edging.

The edges of these fans were occasionally varied to a semi-
circular form, a curiously interesting example appearing in a portrait
of Elizabeth, Lady Wentworth, by Lucas de Heere, in which the leaf,
probably of vellum or parchment, is elaborately decoupe ; the edges
resembling a cheese-cutter in shape, the blades, apparently of ivory,
numbering seven.

The patterning often rivalled the finest lace, of which it was obvi-
ously an imitation, lace also being used for fan mounts at this period,
usually costly Flanders or Valenciennes. In the series of prints by
Hollar of the Four Seasons, 1641, the veiled lady representing 'Summer'
holds in her right hand an opened lace fan, the quaint legend at the foot
of the plate running as follows :

' In Sumer when wee walke to take the ayre,
Wee thus are vayl'd to keep our faces faire,
And lest our beautie should be soiled with sweate
Wee with our ayrie fannes depell the heate.'

The marriage of Charles 11. with Catherine of Braganza in 1662 is
another landmark in the history of the fan in this country. The Queen

1 See Italian fans, p. 109.
178

A L ondon. Fan. Shop, c. /74S.

jW "L. CR~Aiessel.

TlLe stLrren-de.r afjVlaltcL.

/W ffu-n-oeijcrrc/ Pollen..

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

and her Portuguese ladies introduced the gigantic green shading fans of
Moorish origin, which, in the absence of parasols (then unknown in
England), served also to shield the complexions of the ladies from the sun,
when they did not wish wholly to obscure their charms by putting on their
masks. The Indian trade, however, opened up by Catherine's marriage
treaty, soon supplied the ladies of England with fans better adapted, by
their lightness and elegance, to be used as weapons of coquetry at balls
and plays.1

Large numbers of fan mounts were also imported from Italy, both
at this period and later. These are referred to incidentally in one of
Steele's letters to the Tatler, April 23, 1709. ' I am just come from visiting
Sappho [probably Mrs. Elizabeth Haywood, who had been some time on
the Irish stage]. As I came into the room she cries, " Oh, Mr. Bickerstaff,
I am utterly undone ; I have broken that pretty Italian fan I showed you
when you were here last, wherein were so admirably drawn our first parents
in Paradise asleep in each other's arms." ' 2

The fan of Pope's epigram was, it will be remembered, painted with the
story of Cephalus and Procris, the motto ' Aura Veni.'

'Come gentle air! th' Eolian shepherd said
While Procris panted in the secret shade ;
Come gentle air! the fairer Delia cries,
While at her feet her swain expiring lies.
Lo, the glad gales o'er all her beauties stray,
Breathe on her lips, and in her bosom play!
In Delia's hand this toy is fatal found,
Nor could that fabled dart more surely wound ;
Both gifts destructive to the givers prove ;
Alike both lovers fall by those they love.'

1 Agnes Strickland, Lives of the Queens of England. In most of the early engraved portraits of
Catherine of Braganza, the Queen is represented with a folding-fan, in each instance closed ; in one instance,
that of an equestrian portrait, a large fan is depicted.

2 In Campbell's London Tradesman, 1747, it is recorded that 'the Italian mounts are much more in
request than anything of our own manufacture, and large prices are given for them.'

179

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Two fine examples of early fans with subjects from classic mythology
appeared at the Walker sale ; the first having a skin mount painted with
the Triumph of Amphitrite, in which the daughter of Nereus is seated in
a shell drawn by dolphins, with attendant nymphs and tritons, a figure of
Cupid, blindfolded, hovering above; this in allusion to Neptune having
sent the Dolphin to intercede for him, and to bring his innamorata from
the foot of Mount Atlas. The stick is rosewood, inlaid with rays of
mother-of-pearl. The second, from the collection of the Duchesse de
Nemours, representing the marriage of Neptune and Amphitrite, the sub-
ject covering the whole field of a deep mount ; the stick, mother-of-pearl,
carved with a pastoral scene and smaller panels of warriors.

Among the earliest English fans existing in private collections is a
mount of the time of Charles i., the original stick of which is said
to have been of gold, jewelled. The painting, a copy of the 'Triumph of
Bacchus,' by A. Carracci, is attributed (probably erroneously) to Peter Oliver.
The fan was given by the Princess Anne (afterwards Queen) to her god-
daughter, Sarah Robinson, daughter of Sir John Robinson, Master of the
Tower, and widow of the eldest son of Sir Humphrey Gore, on her
marriage, in 1696, with John Harvey, Esq., of Ickwellbury, Beds. It is
an example of a large class of fan mounts produced at this period, which
were reproductions of the works of the greater Italian masters, many of
which were, doubtless, copied by Italian artists, and either exported to
England, or acquired in Italy by visitors to that country.

Two interesting marriage fans of the period of Charles 11., both painted

by the same hand, appeared at the Walker sale in 1882; the one, 'An

Ancient Marriage,' with the bridegroom presenting ring, the bride wearing

a floral chaplet and attended by maidens with distaff and flowers ; the stick

of ivory, carved with emblematic figures, mother-of-pearl inlay, and silver

pique\ The subject of the other (Achilles and Deidamia) referring to the

taking of Troy ; on the reverse a view of the park at St. Cloud ; the stick,

180

fiieJ .-, f,(, v^^U*. Stl*. m-urrniye ^ tkl-T> a~f>k«l.. f77C Frmtk-, Wy at£ Co til' Vd.AM.li

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

mother-of-pearl, carved with subjects emblematic of marriage. These,
doubtless, were made by the French fan-makers who had become domiciled
in England, and probably, as Mr. Robert Walker suggests, for important
court personages.

It was upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 1685, that the
French Huguenots being obliged, through the persecution of their com-
patriots, to quit their own country, sought refuge in England as well as
other countries, where they were received with open arms. Amongst these
were a number of dventaillistes, who established an industry, having
brought with them, not only the money they had been able to save, but
what was still more valuable, their skill as workers, their habitual
diligence and thrift. ' The countries whither they went were enriched by
the arts and trades which the French refugees introduced, and still more by
the examples of industry, probity, and sincere piety which they exhibited in
their own persons.'1

In 1709, upon the 'humble petition of the Ffanmakers that exercise
the Art and Mistery of Ffanmaking in London and Westminster and
Twenty Miles round,' a Charter of incorporation was granted by Queen
Anne, providing that 'all Ffanmakers within the prescribed area, and all
persons who have served, or shall hereafter serve, as Apprentices to the said
Art and Mistery by the space of seven years, and who hereafter, from time to
time, shall be Admitted into, or made free of the Society, shall be one Body
Corporate and Politick in Deed and in Name, with a common seal, with
power to hold lands, and power to sue and defend the same. Power to
make bye-laws touching the good estate, Rule, and Government of the
Society, and for the Reformation of such abuses and deceits as shall be
found to be committed by them either in uttering or making bad and
deceitfull works, as also in their several Offices, functions, Misteries, and
business touching the said Trade,' etc.

1 H. M. Baird, The Huguenots and the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

l8l

HISTORY OF THE FAN

During the latter half of the seventeenth and the first half of the
eighteenth centuries the importation of fans into this country from India,
China, and the East was considerable, and, together with the Italian
importation, already alluded to, threatened to ruin the home industry.
The fanmakers addressed themselves to Parliament, and demanded its prohi-
bition, with the result that a tax of forty shillings a dozen was imposed upon
all wooden- and feather-fans, and for a time the importation of all painted
fans was prohibited. In 1750 there appear to have been disputes between
the Fanmakers' Company and journeymen fanmakers on account of non-
payment of quarterage. Two interesting items of information appear in
the Gentleman s Magazine for October and December 1870 as follows : —

' On the 28th ult. was try'd a cause between the Company of Fanmakers,
incorporated by Charter for the Cities of London, Westminster, and twenty miles
round, plaintiffs, and one Wagstaffe, defendant, for quarterage due to them, who was
ordered to pay it with costs.'

' On the 28th ult. was a tryal in the Court of Requests, Westminster, between
the Company of Fanmakers, plaintiffs, and some fan-painters, defendants, for
non-payment of quarterage, which was determined for the defendants, it appearing
that they were not legal members of the said Company.'

The two following items will serve to show the extent of the fan
industry in the middle of the eighteenth century, and the adverse conditions
under which it laboured.

'A writer in the Westminster Journal for February 23, 1751 (quoted

by the Gentleman s Magazine for the same year), proposes a tax upon plain

and printed fan mounts. Painted ones not coloured to pass free as before.

A sixpenny stamp to be affixed in the midst of a plain or printed paper

fan mount, and a shilling stamp on a leather one. This may produce

a revenue of ten, twenty, or thirty thousand pounds per annum, encourage

a very ingenious branch of business, and only hurt about half-a-dozen

paultry plate printers, who are enriching themselves and starving of

hundreds.'

182

■5

"•5

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

The Gentleman's Magazine for November 1752 quotes an advertise-
ment which appeared in the Daily Advertiser, ' from the poor unfortunate
artificers in the several branches of the fan trade, whose number is nearly
1000; returning thanks to the Company of Fanmakers for petitioning the
E. India directors to discontinue the importation of fans. To excite the
regard and compassion of the ladies, it asserts that the home-made fans
are in every way preferable to foreign ; and that by discouraging the latter,
they will relieve a number of unfortunate families from the most grievous
distress and despair.' l

'On the 7th February' {Gentleman's Magazine, March 1753), 'the
journeymen fanmakers presented the Princess Dowager of Wales with a
beautiful and elegant fan, far superior to Indian fans, which was most
graciously received.' This, doubtless, with the idea of obtaining patronage
and support for the home-made article.

The imported fans were for the most part sold by tea-merchants and
dealers in Oriental wares.

A trade card in the Schreiber collection, British Museum, with an
elaborate engraved portrait of Queen Anne, states that John Roberts at the
Queen's Head in Holborn, near Hatton Garden, London, sells all sorts of
Fine China Ware ; the finest Hyson and Congo Teas, Fine Double Flint
Drinking Glasses, etc., and India Fans.

The fan makers also often combined the trade of fanmaking with the
sale of millinery and stationery. The Banks collection of Shop Bills
includes the following trade card : —

' Robert Pickeard, at the Swan and Golden Fan in Cheapside, near the
Conduit, London.

' Mounteth and Maketh all sorts of Fans, and Selleth Silk Gauze and
Silver Handkerchiefs, Caps, Girdles, Ribbons, Roles, Wiers, Ferrits, Silver

1 The Fanmakers' Company, created by Charter in 1709, for nearly 100 years protected and regulated
the trade, until the reduction of protective duties on foreign fans annihilated the English trade. (Notes by
Colonel Sewell (Fanmakers' Company), Schreiber MS., British Museum.)

183

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Lace for Shoes, white Buttons for Shirts, Silk and Ferrit Laces, Masks and
Necklaces.

' N.B. — Any Merchant may be furnished with all kinds of Milenary Wares at
Cheap Rates.'

Also we find Honour Chassereau, Fan Maker and Stationer, Fan
and Crown, Long Acre, London, ' selling all sorts of Stationery Wares,
Wholesale, Retail, and for Exportation.'

The principal enactments for the regulation of the import trade in
fans and materials of the fan are here enumerated : —

By the nth Geo. i. cap. 7, calpins for fans are rated in the Custom
House books at 7s. 6d. a dozen, and the duty paid on importation is. 5d.
and |ths a dozen.

If made of leather, and the leather be the most valuable part, for
every 20s. of real value upon oath, the duty is 6s.

By the 12th Charles 11. cap. 4, fans for women or children, of French
make, are rated in the Custom House books at £2 per dozen, and the
duty £1, 5s. per dozen. But if these fans are painted, they are
prohibited to be imported, and are seizable as painted wares. The
laws regulating the importation of embroidery are still more stringent.

By the Acts Richard m. cap. 10, 3rd Edward iv. cap. 3, 19th Henry vn.
cap. 21, 5th Elizabeth, cap. 7, 13th and 14th Charles n. cap. 13, 4th and
5th William and Mary, cap. 10, 9th and 10th William in. cap. 9, nth and
1 2th William in. cap. 11, embroidery imported is forfeited, the importer
liable to ^100, and the seller to .£50.

The various materials, as gold and silver thread, or wire, lace fringe,

work made of copper, brass, or any other inferior metal, imported, to be

forfeited and burnt, and ^"ioo paid by the importer of every parcel so

imported. This under 4th Edward m., 10th Anne, cap. 26, 15th George 11.

cap. 20, and 22nd George n.

By the 6th Anne, cap. 19, silks wrought or mixed with gold, silver,

184

Jycrry E7nf>t-

t-r-e- 7;im-

Za^A- A^rtLJ^/yi.

SpQJVaL£cLI^3M^,yvi£toB<lZTUixl-miti^a.turij. E/nyicsh,.

MT->rranl W.GU,

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

or other materials, clandestinely imported, are forfeited, with ^"200 for every
importer, and ^100 by the receiver, seller, or concealer.

It therefore appears that either mounts, or fans that are painted, are
seizable ; and that all fans or mounts embellished with gold or silver are
prohibited under very severe penalties, particularly under 4th Edward in.,
and 15th and 22nd George 11. Further, paper fan-mounts could not be
imported without paying a duty of 55 per cent. ; the duty on plain fans
being 27^ per cent., or, if imported as toys, 37 per cent.

In a table of fees taken by packers and water-side porters for shipping
and landing the goods or merchandise of strangers, second charter of
Charles 11., 1660, 'For a load of fans, one shilling.'

The vogue of fans became general during the first half of the eighteenth
century, when fan-painting was a most lucrative profession. The sculptor
Nollekens tells us that when his wife was a girl, her father's intimate
friend Goupy (a well-known water-colour draughtsman who died in
London in 1763) was considered the most eminent of the fan-painters, and
that fan-painting was then so fashionable that the family of 'Athenian
Stuart ' (so called on account of his exquisite studies of Athens) placed
him as a pupil to Goupy, conceiving that by so doing they had made
his fortune ; and we learn from other sources that Stuart originally gained
his livelihood by painting fans.

A fan-mount in the Schreiber collection is painted with three medallions

of Roman views, The Arch of Constantine, The Arch of Titus, and The

Forum, the field of the fan decorated with delicate classical grotesques

and border, signed 'Jose Goupy, 1738, N.A.' The views are skilfully

drawn in pen line with wash, in the style of the water-colour draughtsmen

of this period, i.e. a low-toned scheme of colour, a good deal of india ink

being used. This signed example is of the greatest value in determining

the character of Goupy's work, and it is extremely probable that he was

responsible for a good many mounts generally considered as Italian. It was
2 A 185

HISTORY OF THE FAN

from Goupy, too, that Stuart originally derived his interest in classic archi-
tectural remains, and, doubtless also, much of his skill in depicting them.

Fans had, indeed, at this period become an indispensable adjunct to
a lady's toilet, a temporary loss of this instrument, upon occasion,
causing much perturbation of spirit. An amusing story of such a cata-
strophe is told in The Gentleman s Magazine for April 1736:

' What whims, what trifles, light as air,
Govern the passions of the fair,
And their dear, thoughtless bosoms tear !

Madame had come to grace the ball with her charming presence, her

powdered admirers crowding about her, while,

Some dance, some sip their tea,
Some chat the pleasing hours away,
And all is innocently gay,

when, all on a sudden, Her Ladyship confounds the company by appearing
in furious mood, with a voice like thunder, every one demanding the matter.
Then the charming Celia, moralising, said :

' " What pity 'tis (in great affairs

When prudence tempers all her cares)
This lady should our mirth destroy,
A vixen, for so meer a toy !
Oh ! how I blush to hear and see
A nymph (who, all the world agree,
Has acted well three parts in life,
The maid, the widow, and the wife),
Once mistress of so firm a mind,
Who wisely, decently resign'd,
Without a tear, her good old man,
Roar like Othello — for a fan.
Strange! that this engine, wont to prove
The surest instrument of love,
Should give to its illustrious dame,
While others freeze, so fierce a flame ! "
186

We^aifia foTl, ^ith BLaji^Laj-Jj LalLon ,/7S4.freTLCh

SA'sH~.,vUt,

S^Pete-TJ a.n.J tkt^ Vatican, Tttrme ,jmla ily by ^/. Croppy.

jD- JLics^v Adjun. .

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

The fan-shops of Fleet Street, the Strand, and Westminster are con-
tinually referred to in the advertisements which appeared from time to time
in the Craftsman. The two following note a change of ownership : —

' Feb. 6, 1741-2.

' To be sold, at Gordon's Fan warehouse, The Crown and Fan in Tavistock
Street, Covent Garden. All sorts of Fans. Wholesale and Retail, very cheap. The
Person leaving off trade.'

' Feb. 12 1742-3.

' Gordon's Fan Warehouse, in Tavistock Street, Covent Garden. Mr. Gordon
having left off Trade, the Business, as usual, is carry'd on by his late journey-woman,

Mary Hitchcock,
At the same Place, where Ladies may be accommodated with all sorts of Fans, at the
most reasonable Rates.'

From the extremely naive and interesting ' fan-shop ' fan belonging to
Mr. Messel we are able to gather some idea of what these shops were like.
The inscription on the shop sign is ' Fanmaker, London,' showing that the
district represented was within the London boundary of this period,

c 1745-

During the comparatively brief reign of Queen Anne fans were again
made large. Sir Roger de Coverley, upon his courting the perverse widow,
declared that he would have allowed her the ' profits of a windmill for her
fans.'1

With the proverbial fickleness of fashion, however, this vogue lasted
but a short time ; the fan lessened its proportions in the second and third
decades of the century, when, during the forties, its size once again
increased, following the lead of France. ' Ventosus,' writing in the London
Magazine for 1744, quotes, with some amusing comments, an epigram by
Dr. Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester, originally written upon a white fan
borrowed from Miss Osborne, afterwards his wife, and referred to by
Steele in the Tatler for October 19, 1710:

1 Spectator, No. 296.
187

HISTORY OF THE FAN

' Flavia, the least and lightest toy
Can with relentless art employ :
This Fan, in meaner hands, would prove
An engine of small force in love ;
Yet she, with graceful air and mien,
Not to be told, or sagely seen,
Directs its wanton motions so,
That it wounds more than Cupid's bow ;
Gives coolness to the matchless dame,
To ev'ry other breast a flame.'

' The whole turn of this,' exclaims our commentator, ' depends upon the
smallness and slightness of the Instrument — the least and lightest toy?
Fans now in vogue are both monstrously large and monstrously strong.
To say that a fan of eight or nine inches long, which, when extended in a
semi-circle could not admit a string of more than fourteen or fifteen,
wounds more than Cupid's Bow, is somewhat extraordinary, but to ascribe
the same excellence to one of our modern ventilators, whose Diagonal line,
when it is full spread, is longer than one of the Bowstrings of our Hoxton
Archers, is ascribing nothing miraculous to it from the fair Hand that may
happen to use it.'

Our good Ventosus had witnessed an increase from ' 3 Quarters of a
Foot ' to ' even 2 Foot within this week past ' ; he looks forward to a still
greater improvement when the fan would extend to the same distance as the
fashionable Hoop. This would introduce ' somewhat of uniformity in a
Lady's Dress, and the age would be agreeably engaged at either meeting or
following a fair Toast, with both her sails spread, in observing the harmony
between the Curve at Top and the Curve at Bottom', etc. Our ingenious
friend discovers other uses for such an instrument — ' a lady might mount it
horizontally, to skreen herself and Family against all the Inclemencies of
the weather.'

Again, at the Playhouse, a good-natured lady may 'have it in her

power to oblige a whole Side Box by a single Puff, and prevent the

188

Si
I?

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

Beaux, as well as the Belles, from fainting away at an extraordinary
Pathos.'

The possibilities of such an instrument have, apparently, no limit
— ' a Blast or two from this machine would be sufficient to whiff away to
a convenient Distance all troublesome and worthless Danglers, who may
attempt to besiege its fortunate possessor.'

Nay, besides private benefits, one of a national nature occurs to
the mind of our imaginative friend — ' 20,000 such fans, properly drawn
up on the Shore, might blow back the next French invasion, or at least
keep off the Enemies' Fleet till our own had Time to come up.'

Our author might indeed, with strict adherence to truth, have included
the beaux as well as the belles in this fanciful defence, with a proportionate
increase in the probability of victory. Amongst the effects referred to in
the inventory of a beau, who was carried off dead upon the taking away of
his snuff-box, and remained unburied, his goods being taken into execution
to defray the charge of his funeral — ' The strong-box of the deceased,
wherein were found five billet-doux, a Bath shilling, a crooked sixpence,
a silk garter, a lock of hair, and three broken fans! !

In the postscript to Addison's letter on the subject of his ' Fan
Academy ' — ' I teach young gentlemen the whole art of gallanting a fan.
N.B. I have reserved little plain fans, made for this use, to avoid
expense.' 2

At the dancing assemblies in London, Bath, and elsewhere, it was
customary for the gentlemen to select their partners by the ballot of fans,
which were placed in a hat, the owner of the fan drawn becoming the
partner of the gentleman who drew it. Mrs. Montagu, in one of her
letters, refers to this custom. ' In the afternoon I went to Lord Oxford's
ball at Marylebone. It was very agreeable ; and the partners were chosen

1 Tatler, December 29, 1709. Letter No. 113. John Hughes.

2 Spectator, No. 102.

189

HISTORY OF THE FAN

by their fans, but with a little supcrcherie! A lady's fan was almost
as well known as her face, and it was not difficult, with a little contrivance,
to know which to draw. The same lady, writing from Bath in January
1740, says: 'Last night I took to the more youthful diversion of dancing,
and am nothing but a fan (which my partner tore) the worse for it ; our
beaux here may make a rent in a woman's fan, but they will never make
a hole in her heart.' '

The popularity of the union of the 'Orange Tree with the English
Rose ' is abundantly testified by the number of painted fans issued of this
subject. A painted bridal-fan of the Princess Anne, daughter of George 11.,
married to the Prince of Orange in 1733, appeared at the Walker sale
in 1882, and sold for £2.6. In this the Princess is seated, attended by
the Loves and Graces.

The preliminaries of peace between Austria and France in 1748
provide a subject for a fan appearing at this same sale. The scene
represents a tented field. Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary, joins hands
with la France, the rival banners inscribed — ' Vive Louis xv., and Vive la
Reine d'Hungrie'; the English banner of St. George in front; at the
back the victory of Admiral Hawke. This probably executed for an
English partisan on the occasion of the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle.

A characteristic fan in the Wyatt collection, of the early part of the
century, has a paper mount painted with merry-making scenes, persons
dancing, drinking, musicians, etc.; the ivory stick carved a jour, painted
with birds and flowers ; the guards, mother-of-pearl, carved and painted.

Mr. George Augustus Sala, in his entertaining preface to the fan
exhibition held at Drapers' Hall in 1878, refers to a remarkably curious
fan exhibited some twenty years earlier, at a congress of the Archaeological
Institute held at Worcester. This, evidently an English production, is
a gouache on vellum, representing either the Great Lottery of 17 14, or

1 E. J. Climenson, Elizabeth Montagu, Queen of the Blue-stockings.

190

A
t

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

the equally remarkable gambling enterprise of 1718, when the popular
greed of gain was stimulated to such an extraordinary degree that a
million and a half sterling was subscribed.

The scene is the interior of Mercer's Hall, Ironmonger Lane,
Cheapside, where transactions connected with lotteries took place, showing
the platform with side galleries conveniently arranged for a crowd of gay
gallants and fashionable dames in the full costume of the period ; the
lottery tickets are in the course of being drawn by Blue-coat boys, a wheel
on either side for blanks and prizes. The design, says our author, is
identified with a contemporary engraving by H. Parr, ' Les divertissements
de la Loterie,' designed by T. Marchant, drawn by Gravelot, and published
by Ryland. Gravelot was a French engraver and decorative painter, invited
to this country by Claude Dubosc to assist in illustrating a sumptuous
history of the campaigns of Marlborough.

Of topographical fans, that owned by Miss Moss, giving a view
of Kensington Square as it appeared in the latter half of the seventeenth
century, is amongst the most interesting : it is extremely fresh in colour,
and exhibits a quaint sense of decorative treatment.

A fan with a view of Cavendish Square is attributed to Canaletto,
who in the latter part of his life visited London, where he was held in
great estimation. The subject is enclosed within a cartouche, with flowers,
etc., in the Chinese taste covering the rest of the field. The stick is of
ivory, carved a jour, with figures, birds, and foliated ornament ; the edges,
when closed, form a subject in relief of birds, insects, and fruit, this being
a device adopted both in Holland, France, and Italy, but especially in
the first-named country. See page 202.

This fan appeared at the Walker sale in 1882, when it was acquired
by the late Baroness Burdett-Coutts.

Spangles appeared about the middle of the century, following the

fashion of France. These served as borderings to subject medallions, and

191

HISTORY OF THE FAN

emphasised the leading lines of the design. A characteristic fan of this
period, 1750- 1780, has either one or three medallions or cartouches, of
pastoral or other subjects, with graceful figures reminiscent of Gainsborough,
Hoppner, and other masters of the English school. These figure medallions
were usually supplemented by smaller ones of musical or other trophies,
dainty flowers, festoons, and borders, the mount being usually silk.

The sticks of these fans were narrow, the number varying from
fourteen to sixteen, including the panaches, the latter delicately carved
a jour. The material was generally ivory, but occasionally mother-
of-pearl. The brins were perfectly straight and flat in the shoulder
portion, but invariably richly decorated with embossed gold and silver
work, this often taking the form of a cartouche extending over six or
eight of the sticks, spangles also being freely used.

It would be difficult to discover a more perfect example of this
class of fan, so peculiarly English in type, than the one exhibited at
South Kensington in 1870 by the Baroness Meyer de Rothschild. In
this the centre medallion represents a lady carrying a lap-dog, visiting a
friend who is seated at an embroidery frame ; on the inferior panels, a girl
playing with a dove, and a boy with a bird-cage and a tethered bird. The
mount is silk, with spangled borderings, the stick ivory, finely carved a jour,
decorated in variegated gold ; jewelled stud. (Illustrated facing p. 180.)

A number of fans were painted by Poggi, who was publishing engraved
fans at this period, and whose fans enjoyed a high reputation. We find
the following entry in Madame DArblay's Journal for March 1781 : —

'Tuesday. — I passed the whole day at Sir Joshua Reynolds's with Miss Palmer,
who, in the morning, took me to see some beautiful fans painted by Poggi, from
designs of Sir Joshua, Angelica, West, and Cipriani, on leather. They are, indeed,
more delightful than can well be imagined ; one was bespoke by the Duchess of
Devonshire, for a present to some woman of rank in France, that was to cost £$0!

In the catalogue of drawings, etc., the property of Mr. Poggi, sold by

192

a-,.

S •

fell

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

auction by Messrs. Christie and Ansell at their Great Room, next Cumberland
House, Pall Mall, on Wednesday, June the 19th, 1782, and two following
days. Second Day's Sale : —

'DRAWINGS OF FANS

99. Hope nursing Love, by Mr. Poggi.
100. A Nymph nursing the Genius of Love, by ditto.
ioi. The Universal Power of Love, by ditto.

102. The Three Fine Arts, Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture : from a

design of Angelica Kauffmann, by Mr. Poggi.

103. The Marriage of Cupid and Psyche, by ditto.

104. The Universal Power of Love, by ditto.

105. Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, displaying her Jewels, by ditto.

106. The Three Fine Arts, Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture : an original

drawing by A. Kauffmann.

107. A Nymph nursing the Genius of Love, by Mr. Bartolozzi.

108. Cephalus and Procris, with the portrait of Mr. Pope and the lady to whom

he presented a fan with the celebrated lines in the Spectator, ' Come

gentle air,' etc. : an original drawing by Mr. Cipriani.1
[09. The Bust of Pope crowned by the Graces, who are admiring the beauty

of his works : an original drawing by A. Kauffmann.
1 10. A Fan emblematical of Victory, composed by a Lady of Quality,' by

Mr. Poggi.
in. Venus lending the Caestus to Juno: an original drawing of A. Kauffmann.

1 1 2. A Subject from the Etrusque : an original drawing by Mr. Bartolozzi.

113. Angelica and Medoro : an original drawing by Mr. Cipriani.

114. Hope nursing Love, by Mr. Poggi.

1 1 5. The Origin of Painting : an original drawing by Mr. Bartolozzi.

116. Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi, displaying her Jewels: an original drawing

by M(?) West.'3

Church-fans are referred to more fully in another chapter of this work

1 The fan of Pope's epigram was probably Italian. See page 179.

2 ' Please notice No. no, which rather points to one of your fans not being by Bartolozzi. Perhaps the
"Lady of Quality" was Lady Duncannon.'— Letter by Mr. Lionel Cust to Lady Charlotte Schreiber.
Schreiber MSS., British Museum.

3 Schreiber MSS., British Museum. Extracts, p. 100.

2B 193

HISTORY OF THE FAN

(page 248). The painted variety gave such subjects as ' The Meeting of
Isaac and Rebecca,' ' Judith with the Head of Holofernes,' ' The Marriage
at Cana,' ' Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.' An early example appeared
at the Walker sale in 1882, having a deep mount painted with the subject
of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden ; the stick ivory, with the silver
pique ornament so popular during the reigns of Charles 11., Queen Anne,
and George 1.

Mourning-fans are easily recognisable from their generally sombre
appearance. In these, the character of the subject is apparently a matter
of small consequence so long as the general colour scheme is that of
a funeral card, viz. black, white, and silver. In the Wyatt collection is an
example of about 1750 painted in black with a pastoral scene, the stick and
guards ivory, painted in black in imitation of the Chinese.

The extraordinary popularity of Wedgwood's jasper ware was not
without its influence on the fan. The example in the possession of Lady
Bristol has a richly carved ivory stick with medallion subjects of Diana
hunting, etc., with amorini, terminal figures, and fauns, in imitation of
blue and black jasper, the panels silver pique\ The mount is of silk, with
centre panel in the style of Angelica Kauffmann, the border and ornaments
in gold and silver spangles, with painted Wedgwood medallions again
introduced. (Illustrated facing p. 176.)

It is not difficult to fix its date. Wedgwood had perfected his jasper
process by 1777, and it may be taken that the fan was produced between
this year and 1780.

The painted ivory brise" fans of the latter part of the eighteenth century
are typically English, though derived from an Italian source. They are
quite easy of identification, being invariably delicately pierced with a fret-
work pattern, painted with medallions usually one superior and two inferior,
and gilt, the gold being usually applied with the brush ; the fan opening
out to the third of a circle.

194

1
Hi

«J

PAINTED FANS (ENGLISH)

An extremely interesting example is decorated with three medallions,
the centre representing a sleeping nymph with Cupids. This formerly
belonged to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and was presented to
Queen Alexandra when Princess of Wales by the Duke of Sutherland in
remembrance of his mother.

The marriage relations of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George iv.)
with Mrs. Fitzherbert formed the subject of an ivory fan, exquisitely cut
in fretwork, with three painted cartouches by Richard Cosway, the centre
representing the Prince and lady with Religion descending in a chariot
pointing with pleading looks to a figure of Hymen, who hovers above ; in
the two other cartouches the pair are figured in the characters of Fidelity
and Constancy. This fan was exhibited at South Kensington in 1870;
it appeared at the Walker sale in 1882, when it was sold for eighteen
guineas. In 1889 it was in the possession of Colonel de Lancey, and is
now in the Hennin collection, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.

The fan in the Wyatt collection, elaborately pierced, painted, and gilt,
has three medallions finely painted in the style of Cosway, with two small
medallions of heads on the guards. The connecting ribbon is green, the
general colour effect being extremely good. The fan opens out to a third of
a circle, the length of the blades 10 inches. (Illustrated facing p. 182.)

The leaf-fan belonging to Mrs. Hungerford Pollen, of the taking of
Malta, refers to the surrender of the island to the British by General
Vaubois, the act being signed and concluded on the 5th September 1800.
The subject is on a large cartouche, occupying three-fourths of the leaf,
the background representing a streamer of lace.

During the period of the Napoleonic wars, a number of French
prisoners were installed in England at Norman Cross near Peterborough,
Porchester Castle, and Edinburgh Castle, and during their confinement
introduced the process of straw marquetry, which had been practised on
the Continent since the time of Henry in., and possibly earlier. Boxes,

195

HISTORY OF THE FAN

trays, decorative pictures, nick-nacks, and hand-screens were made.
Towards the end of the eighteenth century straw plaiting became vastly
fashionable, and straw was adopted for hats, ribbons, plumes, girdles, and
tassels. The fan was not behindhand, but followed the prevailing taste.

Several of these objects appear in the Victoria and Albert Museum,
amongst them being two hand-screens with plaited views.

The fashion lasted well into the nineteenth century, when an extensive
manufacture was also carried on in India (Bengal) for exportation to Europe.
This chiefly consisted of hand-screens of the pear-shaped gourd type, rush
being the material employed.

OSTRICH FEATHER FOLDING-FAN

(From the portrait group by Van Loon

at Amsterdam.)

THE people of the Netherlands have been
famous, from the Middle Ages onwards, for
the splendour of their costumes. We have
an account of Jane of Navarre, wife of
Philippe le Bel, who, upon the occasion of
a visit to Bruges in 1301, was so much
struck by the pomp and magnificence dis-
played by the inhabitants, particularly the
ladies, that she exclaimed, ' What do I
see! I thought I alone was Queen, but here I find them by whole
hundreds.'

The fact that fans were largely used in the Low Countries during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries is evidenced by the frequency of their
appearance in painted and engraved representation. In the ' Omnium pene
Europae, Asiae, Aphricae, atque Americae Gentium habitus,' engraved
by A. de Bruyn, and published at Antwerp in 1581, nine years anterior to
the earliest edition of Vecellio, the long-handled plumed fan appears in the

hands of a Belgian lady ; the shorter-handled tuft-fan is also carried by

196

:cy

a
1°

k „

PAINTED FANS (DUTCH)

noble ladies of England and France. In the works of the great Flemish
painters, Vandyck and Rubens, the rigid feather-fan constantly occurs.

In the engraving by ' J. Coyens et C. Mortier,' of the family of Frederick
and Elizabeth, King and Queen of Bohemia, the young Princess Louysa
holds a dark ostrich feather-fan with a mirror in the centre.

In the large portrait group by Van Loon at Amsterdam, of the family
of Jan Miense Molenaer, a lady holds a folding-fan of white ostrich
feathers, the wavy ivory sticks numbering five ; in the same picture another
lady holds a small rigid feather-fan composed of the feathers of one of the
smaller birds.

In the engraved work by de Bruyn above referred to, the large folding-
fan appears constantly, though not in the hands of the Netherlandish ladies;
the fashion of the fan was, however, substantially the same in most countries
of Europe. Painted mounts appeared early, and were also large ; the
extremely interesting mount in the possession of the Dowager-Marchioness
of Bristol being probably one of the earliest existing Dutch examples.
The subject evidently refers to one of the Dutch settlements in the East
Indies, probably the town of Batavia, built by the Dutch in the early years
of the seventeenth century. Here is represented a quay, where merchandise
(mostly fruits and fish) is being landed from boats, and on which buying
and selling is taking place. In the background are buildings of a European
character, with a volcanic range of mountains in the distance. A high-
masted vessel is moored in the bay, and is partially seen behind the
buildings. In the immediate foreground are two cannon-balls mounted on
low pedestals. The long veils and other details of costume are similar to
those worn by the Dutch during the first half of the century, seen in con-
temporary engravings ; the remarkable peaked, plaited straw-hats are
practically identical with those made by the natives of the Malay Archi-
pelago. The leaf, which has been removed from the stick and stretched

upon a frame, is painted in gouache or paper, probably a little later.

197

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Of subject fans, historical or fanciful, that illustrated from the collection
of Miss Moss (Antony and Cleopatra) is amongst the most charming in
its quaint naivete", and is almost certainly Dutch. The Queen is about to
dissolve the pearl, which she exhibits to the astonished Antony and the
serving-woman beside her. Cooks in the foreground prepare the dishes,
while servitors carry them to the table. An old-fashioned chimney-corner
is seen on the left, with fire-dogs and pot hanging. Music is provided by
harpsichord, lute, and fiddle. The costume is of a nondescript character,
Antony wearing an extraordinary plumed helmet, the Queen in ermined
cloak, both having diadems. The mount, of skin, is particularly pleasant
in colour quality, and probably belongs to the last years of the seventeenth
century. The stick and guards of a later date. A still finer example,
similar in the character of the painting, though of a somewhat later date,
is the fan illustrated by gracious permission of H.R.H. Princess Louise,
Duchess of Argyll, facing page i ; this was the gift of the Duke of Coburg
to Princess Victoria (afterwards Queen) in 1836, from the collection of fans
at Gotha. These two fan leaves, as also Lady Bristol's, may be accepted as
original productions, i.e. the work of artists possessing some inventive
power, rather than, as in the case of so many fan leaves, mere transcripts of
well-known pictures.

An extremely interesting type of mount has a large vignette, usually
of two figures, occupying the centre, or the whole field of the fan. In
these fans the sticks are of carved ivory, often strongly reminiscent of
Chinese design, or having costume figures of the character with which we are
familiar in early woodcuts. Two examples in the Wyatt collection re-
present pastoral groups, extremely good in style, the colour scheme being
most effective.

In the treatment of the mount the Dutch invariably followed the

practice of Italy and France. Many were painted in the Chinese taste,

some in imitation of the finer fans of China. The sticks of these were

198

TDuTch-T'CLn^, Ivory sti-cU, ctzrw&cl.loaiTitetL . & ollt.

„ W?I)cLy-Uj -Gilbert.

DutcA-TaJV.Pa.aecla. stccA, ajat>lc£-d jt.

ran* tvorft. C7V

AirL.CTt~M issU-.

PAINTED FANS (DUTCH)

usually of pierced ivory. An excellent example in the Wyatt collection
shows in the centre compartment the garden of a Chinese house, with
seated figures and visitors arriving. A panel on the right represents an
astronomer making observations, and on the left is a fight between men
in boats on a river. A capital effect is obtained in this fan by means of
line work in gold, this being particularly effective over the blue water
in the boat scene.

The fan illustrated facing page 198 is interesting from the cut-work of
the mount, an imitation of the cut-work Italian fans of the seventeenth
century ; in this instance, the pattern is produced by means of stamping,
done before the leaf is painted. The stick and guards are extremely
effective, and are of ivory, pierced, carved, painted and gilt.

Flemish fans are often decorated with subjects from Scripture history ;
as Jacob and Rachel, Abraham entertaining the three Angels, scenes from
the lives of Elijah, Ruth, and Boaz ; these evidently for use at church. A
fine example of the end of the seventeenth century appeared at the Walker
sale in 1882, and passed into the Franks collection. This is a crowded
composition of the passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea; the stick
of plain ivory, the guards carved with figures of Bellona.

The subject of Rinaldo in the Garden of Armida also occurs on a fan
in the Wyatt collection, the mount chicken skin, the style and colouring
that of the later Roman school of painting. The stick and guards of ivory,
carved with scroll-work and figures, the date about 1700.

Embroidery was also employed. An unusual example, the method

scarcely to be commended on account of the weight, is also in the Wyatt

collection, with a naturalistic landscape and figures, the embroidered

work covering the whole field of the fan, and consequently rendering it

heavy both in appearance and actual weight. The stick and guards are

tortoise-shell, pierced and embossed with gold, probably of a later date than

the mount, which may be put at c. 1650.

199

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The method of painting upon ivory, with a subsequent covering of
varnish, if indeed it was not anticipated by the Dutch, was practised in
Holland concurrently with the brothers Martin in France. It was an instance
in which a new departure or fresh invention occurred simultaneously in
several places, but whether the Dutch, Italians, or French were the first in
the field with this method of decoration, it is certain that the varnish was
perfected by Martin.

The ivory base" fans of the Dutch were, like the French, small in size,
and at the end of the seventeenth century, says Redgrave, were frequently
imported into Paris and decorated in ' Vernis Martin.' In a most effective
type of fan, the plain cream white of the ivory forms part of the decorative
scheme ; three medallions, one large and two small, of landscapes with
figures in the foreground, form the sole decorations ; the ivory background,
the green connecting ribbon, and the prevailing blues and greens of the
panels, constitute a most pleasant harmony. These fans usually open
out to a little more than a quarter of a circle. An example appears
in the Wyatt collection.

In another type, the plain ivory sticks are painted in the Chinese
taste, the fans slightly larger than those previously referred to. In some,
purely Chinese motifs are employed ; in others, a semi-naturalistic
arrangement of flowers and festoons is associated with the Martin type of
decoration on the guards and lower semicircle of the fan.

In an extremely interesting fan in the Wyatt collection, this principle
is carried further by the introduction of three medallions of single figures —
a man with a cask of wine on his back, holding a lantern and goblet, and
two female figures of flower- and fruit-sellers ; the guards and lower
semicircle in the Chinese taste, the blades connected by a green ribbon.

Perhaps the prettiest and most characteristic of the Dutch ivory fans

are those in which the blades are cut in fine open work, and a border of from

i^ to 2 inches, delicately painted with flowers, fruit, birds, and butterflies.

200

)

i
1

3 -

* ft

/^£ULor€CL£-f Cwrnuut'i s'tUM. finely c^zrrc*± t*it* rfyu-TEj , ensruopt^s <£c ,

mVu. 6y tb* ^P-ruice- Concert fc> Q^en^Victcr<a^ from. tAa ooUccttoTv- oTfarus <^t doUui^.

Tiutorelle. .. Re^ck or C

e+-m4Z-n*

Z~<uui*4ae n-'erot>*-AA.

iXtuZEaa

uje*u-77is *yZ4LiZ4ja--r,

PAINTED FANS (DUTCH)

In some instances the principal portions of the decoration are of thin ivory
applied and afterwards painted.

In these fans the connecting silk ribbon is usually white, and placed
immediately below the painted border, instead of on the edge. This
arrangement allows the ends of the blades to be rounded or otherwise
ornamented.

Sandalwood is pierced and painted in a similar way to ivory, forget-
me-nots being a favourite motif for the decoration, first on account of
their suitability of sentiment — as love-gifts — and also by reason of the blue
of the flower harmonising with the colour of the sandalwood. In some
examples the background of this forget-me-not wreath or border is pierced,
the connecting ribbon being also blue of a slightly different tint to the
flowers.

The horn-fans are either pierced entirely in flat open work, or painting
is employed as an additional enrichment, both sides of the fan being usually
decorated with garlands in gouache. A pretty fan in the Wyatt collection
has five heart-shaped garlands with the colour of the flowers alternately
red and pink, the light-blue connecting ribbon forming a very effective
contrast to the natural colour of the horn ; indeed the connecting ribbon in
each instance forms a decorative feature, the colours being of pink, blue,
brown, or white, as the colour scheme demands. The horn is either of
its natural colour, or stained to various hues, generally saffron.

There are also the small fans decorated with spangles, much in vogue
both in Holland and elsewhere towards the close of the eighteenth century
and later. The mounts are of white gauze or net, decorated with pierced
and cut steel ornaments and spangles, embroidered with gold thread and
braid, the stick and guards usually of stained horn inlaid with steel.

A charming example of the small spangled Dutch fan is of silk, with

an inserted band of gauze ornamented with silver spangles and stamped

silver ornaments, the stick and guards of horn with inserted spangles.
2 c 201

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Dutch sticks often present qualities which are remarkable and unusual,
the curious example owned by Mr. Messel being a case in point. This,
by a device at once simple, ingenious, and effective, is made to resemble,
when closed, a Chinese pagoda, and is probably an imitation of a Chinese
original. The leaf is of small interest, being poorly painted in the Chinese
taste ; the costumes of the figures are, however, of applied straw of various
colours.

The practice of carving the edges of the closed stick with figures, heads,
or ornament, though not confined to the Dutch, was employed by them to
perhaps a greater extent than in other countries. The curious example
in the possession of Sir L. Alma-Tadema, showing a well-carved head at
the handle, presents interest at either front, side, or back view of the closed
fan. The leaf also of this fan, no less than the stick, presents points of
exceptional interest, and represents two figures of a botanist and lady
seated in a garden laid out with fountains, etc., a villa in the distance, and
possibly refers to Linnaeus, and either the villa of Harmanby, about a
league from Upsala, which he used as a summer residence and converted
into a little university, his pupils following him thither, or the Queen's
gardens at Ulriksdal, near Stockholm, arranged by the illustrious botanist.

The great traditional school of German design has never affected the
fan, nor is it desirable that it should ; though a plumed fan, or, for that
matter, a folding one, designed by a Diirer would indeed be a precious
possession.

German fans present no characteristics peculiar to the Teutonic race ;

the type is French, tinctured perhaps by a certain heaviness of effect, lacking

the light, dainty touch of the French. A few, however, reach a high level

of excellence, and compare favourably with the best French workmanship,

notably an early example, illustrated, which appeared at the Exhibition at

South Kensington in 1870, given to H.M. Queen Victoria by H.R.H. the

Prince Consort, from the collection of fans at Gotha. In this the mount is

202

Tilt 'm42X "Ait*. Cvrm

/.ore's Aiirrcr. O^rrrva^, cJ760.

J\.tLTt-6~toe-*+'6 t be-r t'iusejsm. JBtr/s-r^.

PAINTED FANS (GERMAN)

vellum painted with a pastorelle, the stick of ivory, carved with a series
of miniature figures under canopies, coloured, and gilt. The guards are
extremely curious, being cylindrical in shape, the lower segment fluted,
the shoulder carved with arabesques, and surmounted by small heads.

Another fine example (illustrated facing p. 4), from the collection
of H.R.H. the Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, was also the gift of
the Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, and is decorated with a series of
medallions of dancing figures, etc.

A type of fan, apparently peculiar to Germany, common during the
eighteenth century, has painted subjects cut out and laid on lace or net, a
kind of painting applique", the effect extremely good. An example deco-
rated with pastoral groups was exhibited at South Kensington by H.R.H.
Madame la Comtesse de Paris ; the stick ivory, carved a jour, with figures
laid on gold-foil ; the foliage, etc., coloured. This was bought in Dresden
about i860. A fan similar in character, the date about 1765, was exhibited
at Karlsruhe in 1890.

' If the fans of the eighteenth century,' says Mr. H. F. Holt,1 'yielded
in grace and elegance to those of the sixteenth, they certainly (upon
occasion) exceeded them in richness and magnificence, the materials used
being often costly Flanders lace, the handles splendidly ornamented and
inlaid with jewels. As the climax, however, of costly magnificence,' con-
tinues this writer, ' I will conclude with a description of the fan of the
Duchess of York, who, shortly after her arrival in England, displayed a
pleated fan entirely of diamonds, with an ivory stick pierced and set with
diamonds in a mosaic pattern ; the outside ones were set with a single row
of diamonds, whilst very large brilliants fastened the fan at the bottom.'

The eighteenth century was indeed, par excellence, the era of the
fan, which was to be seen in the hands of every woman, from princess
to peasant.

1 Journal of the Archaeological Association, vol. xxvi., 1870.
203

CHAPTER IX

ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND
EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. PART I

THE practice of engraving fans, begun tentatively in
Italy by Agostino Carracci in the latter half of the
sixteenth century, and in France by Callot somewhat
later, did not become general until the close of the
century that followed, although two names — those of
Abraham Bosse and Nicholas Loire — stand out pro-
minently during this interval.

The engraving of Carracci referred to in an early

chapter of this work, and illustrated opposite, must be

regarded as merely a design for a fan, serving no other

purpose apparently, in its engraved form, than as a record of a

type of fan now practically obsolete, and of which no examples in

their complete or original state remain to us.

The earliest engraved fans take the form of the hand-screens
in general use in Italy and elsewhere at this period. Of these, the
engraving known as ' l'dventail de Callot,' much sought after by
iconophilists, was produced in the year 1619, and is one of the
most esteemed plates of the master. The subject is a fete or carnival
on the Arno, given at Florence on the 25th of July of that year by the
Corporations of Weavers and Dyers, the whole subject being enclosed
in a characteristic cartouche, on the lower portion of which the name

' Jacomo Callot fee' appears.

204

ENGRAVED FANS

Two states of this engraving are known. The first, before the
inscription on the ribbon and the name on the cartouche, being extremely
rare.1

Callot has been credited with a second fan, which also takes the form
of a cartouche of similar shape to the first mentioned. The subject is
a dance in a garden — six persons are seen dancing a minuet before an
assembled company. This engraving, however, is rightly ascribed by the
best authorities to Stefano della Bella.

This subject was imitated and amplified by Nicolas Cochin the elder,
the composition rearranged, a larger number of figures introduced, with
a different and more elaborate background, the cartouche being similar.

Cochin also produced a subject of the Triumph of David, who is
represented on horseback, sword in hand, with the head of Goliath,
the cartouche copied from Callot, inscribed ' Balthasar Montcornet, ex
Cum privilegio a paris.'

Another of these engraved hand-screens consists of a frame composed
of two large eagles, with the arms of Austria and Medicis, enclosing a
view of the Villa Reale near Florence, freely etched in the manner of
Israel Silvestre.

A set of four hand-screens was engraved by Christopher Fredr.
Horman ; prints of Nos. 3 and 4 appear in the British Museum collec-
tion. No. 3 is included in Lady Charlotte Schreiber's book, No. 4
being reproduced here. The subjects are ballet dancers in fantastic
costume, accompanied by, in each instance, a figure playing a musical
instrument.

The distinguished French engraver, Abraham Bosse (born 1602, died
1676), engraved three fans during the years 1637-38, much valued by
collectors. The ornament of these, designed in a florid Renaissance style,
consists of amorini, masks, festoons, etc., enclosing medallions of mytho-

1 See Meaume, Recherches sur la vie et les ouvrages de Jacques Callot, vol. ii. p. 287.

205

HISTORY OF THE FAN

logical subjects — the first being the birth of Adonis, Venus and Adonis,
and the death of Adonis ; the second — the Judgment of Paris, a Cupid
drawing his bow, and a Cupid with a crown ; the third — the four ages :
of gold, silver, bronze, and iron.

No examples of these engravings appear in the British Museum
collection. A print of the Judgment of Paris is in the Bibliotheque
Nationale, but permission to reproduce it could not be obtained.

The title-page of Nicholas Loire's work, Desseins de grands Eventails,
appears in the Schreiber collection, together with six engravings from the
work. This title-page, by far the most characteristic design of the series,
takes the form of a folding-fan, full size. Its subject is an arabesque,
composed of a droll with cap and bells playing a guitar, and two fantastic
dancing figures on an ornamental festooned platform supported by the
wings of female terminals ; cornucopia, amorini, vases and flowers serve
to complete the composition. It is inscribed : ' Divers Desseins de grands
Eventails, Ecrans, et autres Ornamens, Inventus et Graves par Nicholas
Loire, A Paris chez Jombert rue Dauphin, No. 56,' and signed ' Loire
fecit.'

The designs, which measure eight inches, are evidently intended to
form the central subjects of fans, to be completed and coloured by hand.
They include 'The Judgment of Paris,' enclosed in a cartouche with
Cupids, fruit, etc. ; an eastern goddess, seated under a canopy, the
drapery of which is sustained by two serving-men ; Isaac and Rebekah ;
The finding of Moses ; Venus ; and Europa.

The topical fan, having reference to royal and distinguished personages,

or recording public events, was entirely the product of the eighteenth

century. It was, broadly speaking, born with the century, and died with

it. During this period, the engraved fan became a purveyor of history,

a kind of running commentary on the affairs of the hour. It was the

fan of the people — the poor relation of the more aristocratic painted fan.

206

ENGRAVED FANS

' 111 drawn, roughly modelled, and often vilely bedaubed,' says Henri
Bouchot in his entertaining 'History on Fans,'1 'its genesis is not hard
to determine ; its fathers were Callot and Abraham Bosse, and its mothers
the coquettes of the grand si&cle.' We shall, therefore, lightly, though
perhaps somewhat too swiftly, traverse the fascinating period above indi-
cated, with this sprightly annotator for guide, which finds amusement in
' Malbrouk ' and his mock burial, follows Stanislaus into his enforced retire-
ment in Alsace, alternately sympathises with and mocks at the woes of the
unfortunate Louis and his family, with apparent careless nonchalance
records the chief scenes of the reign of terror, celebrates the amazing
triumphs, and witnesses the ultimate defeat of Napoleon.

Naval and military events, for reasons which will be sufficiently
obvious, play a comparatively unimportant part in French fan decoration.
' Malbrouk ' (Marlborough) is, however, lampooned in three scenes from
the popular song of ' Malbrouk,' said to have been composed on the night
after the battle of Malplaquet, September u, 1709, and a plagiarism
of a Huguenot song on the death of the Due de Guise,2 written by Theodore
de Beze and published by the Abbe de la Place in his collection of
fragments, the first verse of which runs as follows :

' Qui veut ouir chanson ? (bis)
C'est du Grand Due de Guise ;

Et bon bon bon bon,

Di dan di dan don.
C'est du Grand due de Guise !
Qui est mort et enterre1.'

' Malbrouk ' provided the subject of several fans, the most popular
versions giving three vignettes. In the centre his tomb inscribed ' Ci Git
Malbrouk,' guarded by four soldiers. Below are portions of the thirteenth
and fourteenth verses :

1 Art and Letters, Jan. 1888.

2 Honore de Balzac (Sur Catherine de Midicis).

207

HISTORY OF THE FAN

' A l'entour de sa tombe

Romarin Ton planta.'
' Sur la plus haute branche

Le rossignol chanta.'

On the left, his departure, Madame taking an affectionate leave ; below :

' Malbrouk sen va-t-en guerre.'

On the right, the tower, Madame with telescope, page bringing news
of Malbrouk's death ; below, a portion of fourth verse :

' Madame a sa tour monte
Si haut qu'elle peut monter.'

On the back of the fan are nineteen verses of the song with music,
and the refrain : ' Miron, ton-ton-ton-miron.'

An example appears in Miss Moss's collection, with the reverse only
engraved, the obverse painted in gouache on skin, the stick ivory, pierced
and carved.

Several versions of the engraved fan are extant — one with similar
arrangements to that above described, and the Histoire de Malbrouk in
thirty-one verses on the back. A second has, for centre, Malbrouk's body
carried by soldiers ; on the left, Madame on tower, page bringing news,
both in tears ; on the right the tomb, ten verses from the second part
of the song, filling the field of the fan. On a third, in the centre,
Malbrouk taking leave ; on the left, page bringing news of his death ;
on the right, the tomb ; on the reverse, the verses of the song, with music,
and the refrain :

' Miron ton-ton-ton-mirontaine.'

The fan of ' La Coquette,' with those of ' la Belle Chanteuse ' and

' le Galant,' and portraits of Babet the flower-girl (a popular character of

the period), were issued by the dealer Crepy and sold by the score to the

frequenters of the theatre.

208

•s

X
k

ENGRAVED FANS

La Coquette herself, with her paniers occupying nearly a third of
the fan, demurely takes her tea. She is, doubtless, the sister of
Mademoiselle Allurd, who dances to the music of a viola, while the
small half-opened fan, the fan within the fan, sings :

' Voila un eventaille mon cousin,
De plaisante figure.
Admire" son dessin, mon cousin,
Mais non pas la peinture,
Elle est a l'allure, mon cousin,
Mon cousin a l'allure ! '

The half-opened fan of ' La Coquette ' is also provided with a subject

of which, perhaps, the less said the better :

' Cette Evantail est magnifique
Mais defectueux en cela.
Que pour la mettre en musique
II faut dire un sol, la, mi, la. (Un sot l'a mis la!)'

The peasant girl, with her panier on hip and panier on arm, is also
a coquette ; ' Je vais en Vendange remplir mon Panier,' says she, the
sort of vintage the cunning Margot hopes for being sufficiently obvious,
even without the love-knot that loops the frame of the miniature with
its accompanying legend, ' J'ay bien des camarades sur la place,' and the
knave of diamonds standing hard by.

The ' little air ' with its explanatory picture says :

' Je voudrois bien Liset-te
Au son de ma musett-te
Je voudrois bien Liset-te
Charmer votre langueur ;
Que faittes vous seulette
Assis dessus l'herbette
Votre ame est inquiette .
Qui peut Causer votre langueur

Au son de ma muset-te

Je voudrois bien Liset-te.'
2 D 209

HISTORY OF THE FAN

A pictorial rebus (referring to ' 1'eVentail magnifique '), a game board,
a harlequin, and a billet-doux (N'oubliez pas le porteur) complete the
composition ; the whole being an instance of the Parisian's insatiable
love of badinage. Printed in Paris in 1734.

In Le bal des Nations, the several countries are figured as pretty
women at a costume ball ; this representing the fan's comment on the
declaration of war with the Emperor Charles vi. Each of the actors of
the piece delivers a song, the words of which are printed round the top
of the fan. La France sings :

'Je suis certaine
De bien cabrioler,
Rien ne me gene,
Je veux me signaler.
Je connais mes appas;
Sur tout j'aurai le pas,
D'un beau boquet paree,
Que Charles detacha
De sa livree.'

La France is followed by L'Espagne, La Sardaigne, L'ltalie, L'Alle-
magne, La Saxe, La Russie, La Pologne, La Turquie, La Hollande
and L'Angleterre. The air, (le Bel Age), printed on the fan.

Events failed to bear out the fan's predictions. The news of the
defeat of Stanislaus was carefully concealed from Queen Marie, the king
causing a special copy of the Gazette to be printed announcing her
father's successes.

The queen, however, remained in ignorance but a short while ; the

fan, the popular newspaper of the period, very speedily announced —

' Capture of Dantzic by the Russians, unconditional surrender.' The

picture — Stanislaus escaping through a gateway with his band of

mounted followers.

' Malbrouk ' crops up again towards the middle of the century ; the

210

«?
*

ENGRAVED FANS

folly of 'Pantins'1 and Bilboquets had been superseded by le ' fureur
de cabriolets,' to be in turn driven away by ' Malbrouk.' ' Une Folie
chasse l'autre ' exhibits ' Malbrouk ' fully equipped with sword and
buckler, issuing from a tent held open by a fool in cap and motley,
driving away figures of a woman playing bilboquet, a dancing abbe" with
Pantin, a cabaret-keeper, and a man with flag and lantern.
To the air of ' Chacun a son Tour,' the fan sings :

' Un rien suffit pour nous seduire
La nouvaute par son attrait
Nous enflame jusqu'au delire
Nous fait en rire on a tout fait
Et chez notre nation volage
Malbrouk est le Heros du jour.

Chacun a son Tour

C'est notre usage

Chacun a son tour.
Au Bilboquet Pantin succede
Pantin fuit devant Ramponeau
l'Elegant Ramponeau ne cede
Que pour faire place a. Janot
La Folie qui nous guide a tout age
Amene Malbourg en ce jour.

Chacun a son tour, etc'

We have also a satire on the separation of America from England,
who is represented as a cow, with America in the act of sawing off its
horns; Holland milking it; Spain waiting to receive the milk. A lion
representing England has lost its right paw. To the left ' Jacques Rosbif '
and a companion in despairing attitudes, with the deed of separation and
a bale of goods labelled 'TEE.' The whole scene is being witnessed

1 In French salons, about the year 1728, the fashion prevailed of 'Les Pantins Me'chaniques,' that
every one carried and worked by the aid of strings while chatting of one thing and another. Lacroix, XVIII
Side, France, 1700-87, p. 507.

From 1748 to 1750 it was in high vogue among the beau monde as a diverting plaything for gentlemen
and ladies. Wright, Caricature History of the Georges, note, p. 251.

211

HISTORY OF THE FAN

by a group of figures representing the Powers of Europe, with a paper
inscribed ' Epoque fatale. 4 Juillet, 1776, & le 13 Mar. 1778.' On the
reverse the ' Explication de l'embleme ' as —

1. ' La Vache & le Lion sont le symbole de l'Angleterre.'

2. ' La Corne qu'on a sciee a la Vache, la Patte qu'on a coupee au Lion, &

la tranquillity de ces Animaux designent la foiblesse & l'epuisement
actuels de la Nation,' etc.1

The capture of Granada by the French fleet under the Comte
d'Estaing, in 1799, is commemorated, the fan illustrating the sea-fight
between French and English ships.

The fortunes of the ill-fated Louis Seize and his beautiful consort
are followed to the final tragedy of 1793 with its momentous conse-
quences. We have seen how the good citizens of Dieppe celebrated the
joyful occasion of the birth of the dauphin by the gift to the queen-
mother of a precious fan of carved ivory. On the more humble printed
fan, Immortality, amid a great concourse of people, with fireworks and
illuminations in the background, presents the royal infant on a cushion,
to kneeling, admiring, and devoted France, who offers a basket of hearts.
The inscription, ' Le Dauphin prdsente" par l'immortalitd, la France saisie
d'admiration offre pour hommage a son Prince ch6ri les cceurs unis et
respectueux de ses fideles sujets.'

Again the fan sings the birth of the dauphin ; in this the royal
infant, in leading-strings, advances to meet the king, his father, who is
standing near. Above, a genius floats in the air, with a wreath and two
shields of arms bearing fleurs-de-lys and two dolphins. On either side
are verses entitled ' Chanson sur la Naissance du Dauphin. Air, de la
Pantoufle.'

1 The subject of America is returned to later, when in the ' George Washington ' fan we have
in the centre a portrait of Washington, and, ranged on either side, portraits of the succeeding ten
presidents of the United States. This, a lithograph, with painted decorations in silver, bearing the
inscription, ' Vagneur-Dupre\ No. 530. Lith. de Lemercier.'

212

TttfePofe ofjVicoiaj Loire & Desscww r/^arcLn^a Ev entails.

9. ':•■■■■*/

La- Coousette

E»v6liotJi£.QtL€ fJa&on&U.

ENGRAVED FANS

' Venus, en ce jour,
Comble nos cceurs d'allegresse
Venus en ce jour
Donne naissance a l'amour,
Francis cherissons,
Et donnons notre tendresse
Francois cherissons
Cet auguste rejetton,' etc.

The song of 'Malbrouk' came once again into fashion in 1782. It
was sung by the nurse to the infant dauphin, and hence became one of
the favourite tunes of Marie-Antoinette. Beaumarchais introduced it into
Le Mariage de Figaro in 1784, the piece having been privately per-
formed before the king at Versailles, the queen taking the part of
Suzanne. ' Malbrouk,' say the authors of the Mdmoires Secrets de
Bachaumont , ' has become the hero of every fashion — to-day everything is
"a la Malbrouk" — ribbons, head-dresses, waistcoats, above all, hats "a la
Malbrouk," and one sees all the ladies, either walking in the streets,
on the promenade, or at the play, "rigged out" in this grotesque
couvre-chef.'

Most things mundane, however, come to an end sooner or later —
even the star of Malbrouk, in its turn, is eclipsed :

' Malbrouck n'a plus d'empire,
Les beaux jours sont passes,
Ce guerrier a fait rire
Les gens les plus senses,
Mais changeant de methode
Au gre de nos scavans,
Chacun se prend de mode
Pour les globes mouvants ! '

On a fine evening at the end of August 1783, the peasants of
Gonesse were astonished by a 'bolt from the blue' in the shape of
Professor Charles's balloon. 'What is it?' they exclaim— ' some strange

213

HISTORY OF THE FAN

demon, or a visitant from Mars.' The machine, which had no occupant,
King Louis having objected to a man risking his neck, only escaped
destruction by the interference of the parish priest. Here, surely, was
an opportunity for the fan, by which, as a matter of fact, it was not slow
in profiting. Balloon-fans became at once the mode, and ' La Mode '
appropriated the balloon ; hats ' au ballon,' everything — dresses, ribbons,
even hair, 'au ballon.'

On December ist of the same year, MM. Charles and Robert made
their ascent in the gardens of the Tuileries. We therefore have a fan
representing the departure of ' les deux intrdpides,' with a group of spec-
tators, among whom are two members of the Royal House, ' des
seigneurs quantity.' On the reverse, two lines of music and five stanzas
of verse, of which the first runs as follows :

' De l'aerostatique sphere
francois admirez la splandeur
voyez sa forme circulaire
coup see par un Equateur
enselevant elle presente
le signe qui nous attendrit
c'est la maison interessante (bis)
des gemeaux quelle nous ravit.'

There was an echo in England. An illustration of the event forms
the centre subject of a fan in the Schreiber collection. On the left,
Biaggini's Air Balloon is about to ascend ; and on the right, The Fall of
ye Balloon, the confused mass being viewed with curiosity by three rustics.

In the following March, M. Blanchard made his ascent in his
balloon with four rudders ; the event duly recorded on a fan inscribed
'La Phisico Mdcanique Ou le Vaisseau Volant de Mr. Blanchard.'
The song of four stanzas, 'Oh parbleu voici du plaisant. Vive la
Phisique,' etc.

214

72iJci/iy a^tfeRastilk, 1789-

Sckrci6er Colt ?~2iriGji. Ait,

Ihj^c ci- OrletLnt

Afiss Me:

ENGRAVED FANS

There were painted as well as engraved balloon-fans — with a centre
medallion of two fair damsels viewing ' sa forme circulaire,' a smaller
medallion of a balloon on either side, the field of the fan in the glitter
of stars, spangles, and dotted ornaments.

Thus Carlyle, with his characteristic double entente, philosophising
on these events : ' Beautiful invention ; mounting heavenward, so beauti-
fully,— so unguidably! Emblem of much, and of our Age of Hope itself;
which shall mount, specifically-light, majestically in this same manner;
and hover,— tumbling whither Fate will. Well if it do not, Pilatre-like,
explode; and Amount all the more tragically! — So, riding on windbags,
will men scale the Empyrean.'

The comments of the Parisian wits were of a different order to the
caustic satire of Carlyle : in the engraving by Sargent, which appeared in
all the glory of printed colour, a learned but absent-minded physicist,
instead of inflating his silken globes, inflates himself! with the result
that he disappeared through the window. ' Mon pauvre oncle,' exclaims
a young man who exhibits the extreme of grief and despair. A fan leaf
'a Poncle' appears in the Bibliotheque Nationale, having been removed
from a mount. Wright, Caricature History of the Georges, note, p. 545,
says: 'The ascents in France during the year 1784 were very numerous,
and excited interest even in England.'

Horace Walpole, writing from London on May 7 of the following
year, says : ' Of conversation, the chief topic is air-balloons ; a French
girl, daughter of a dancer, has made a voyage into the clouds, and was
in danger of falling to earth, and being ship wrecked. Three more
balloons sail to-day ; in short, we shall have a prodigious navy in the air,
and then what signifies having lost the empire of the ocean ? '

Beaumarchais' comedy, Le Mariage de Figaro, upon its production
in Paris in 1784, immediately became the rage, and enjoyed its successful
run of a 'hundred nights.' Its story supplied the 'book' for Mozart's

2I5

HISTORY OF THE FAN

opera, which had been 'commanded' by the Emperor (Joseph n.) of
Germany. This work, first produced in Vienna at the time when Italian
opposition to German opera as represented by Gluck and Mozart waxed
fiercest, failed, being so indifferently performed under the direction of
Salieri, the head of the opposing faction. At Prague, however, where it
was subsequently given, and which was outside the influence of Salieri,
it was completely successful, a circumstance which afforded Mozart so
much satisfaction that he declared that he would write an opera for the
good people of Prague, and thereupon produced Don Giovanni \

While the Italian opposition to Mozart's music was so pronounced,
the feeling of antagonism was by no means reciprocated by the great
Salzburg composer, who wrote a number of variations to airs by Sarti,
Paisiello, and Salieri. The beautiful series of variations on the air ' Mio
Caro Adone ' from Salieri's opera, La fiera ai Venezia, was composed
in 1773, the opera appearing in Vienna a year previously.

Two Figaro fans appear in the Schreiber collection, British Museum,
the one with a single medallion in the centre, with scene from the play,
and four stanzas of verse commencing ' Jadis on voioit Thalie,' etc. ; the
other with a centre medallion and two smaller ones, and thirteen stanzas
of verse commencing ' Cceurs sensibles, cceurs fidelles,' etc., with music.
Inscribed at the top — 'Vaudeville du Manage de Figaro.' Beaumarchais
collaborated with Salieri in the opera of Tarare, first produced in Paris
in 1787. He claimed to have led the way to the Revolution by this
piece, which formed the subject of several fans.

Three scenes from Grcftry's opera of Richard, Cozur de Lion, first

produced in 1784, and performed the following year before the king and

queen at Fontainebleau, appear on a fan, the costumes being of the period of

the production of the opera, the ladies wearing the hooped petticoat, with

long streamers from their heads. On the reverse, two songs commencing

' Que le Sultan Saladin,' and ' La Danse n'est pas ce que j'aime.' The song

216

ENGRAVED FANS

' O Richard, O mon Roi, l'univers t'abandonne,' which, however, does not
appear on the fan, became of historic importance at Versailles, October i,
1789.

Other operatic fans commemorate ' Nina ou la Folk par Amour ' and
' Raoul de CrdquV by Dalayrac, produced in 1786 and 1789 respectively.
The first named has a single scene with four figures in the centre of the fan,
and verses headed ' Romance de Nina, Chantde par Mme. Dugazon.' The
second much more elaborate, with one large and two smaller panels,
verses and music from the opera on the back of the fan.

Three scenes from Dezede's Alcidor, produced 1787, commemorate an
opera of which both composer and music are now forgotten. The decorations
are etched and rudely coloured by hand ; the sticks walnut, inlaid with ivory.

Three hand-screens appeared with a scene from the first, second, and
third acts respectively of Fanchon La Vielleuse, a French version of Himmel
and Kotzebue's operetta, Fanchon, das Leyermddchen, produced at Berlin in
1805. These testify to the transient popularity of a now almost forgotten
composer. The screens are of cardboard, coloured grey-brown, shield-
shaped, having an oval medallion engraved in line and coloured by hand.
On the reverse, extracts from the libretto.

Of plays we have an illustration of a scene from Voltaire's tragedy of
Brutus, first produced in Paris in 1730, and revived in 1790, the names of
the several characters inscribed below the figures.

On another fan, three scenes from Ch^nier's play of Charles IX. ou
I'Ecole des Rois, which appeared in Paris in 1789. On the reverse, a long
quotation from the second scene of the third act.

An adventure of Philippe-Egalitd, Due d'Orleans, provided the subject

of several fans. The story is related at length upon a fan which shows

the interior of a cottage where the Duke, during a walk near Bency, in

January 1786, had stopped to ask for a breakfast. The peasant's wife was at

the point of childbirth, and was actually delivered whilst the unknown
2 e 217

HISTORY OF THE FAN

prince ' que la France admire ' ate his frugal meal of bread and cheese. With
his natural bonhomie he proposed himself as godfather, and only at the
signing of the register he disclosed his identity by exhibiting his ' cordon-
bleu.'

A fan in the Schreiber collection shows the interior of a parish church,
with the prince standing as sponsor. The inscription, ' Couplets dedids a
S.A.S. Monseigneur le Due d'Orldans.'

' Admirons son noble courage,
Son Joquet se trouve en danger,
Ce Heros se jette a la nage,
Rien ne lui paroit Stranger.

Exaltons le Prince fait homme
Celebrons ses nobles vertus
Et qu'en tous lieux on le renome
Comme on a renome Titus,
fin.'

The assembly of notables is duly recorded. We see majesty en-
throned with a royal prince on either side ; Monsieur de Calonne reads
his speech, a clerk seated at the table. Inscribed at the top of the fan,
' L' Assembled des Notables commenced le 22 Fevrier 1787.' On the reverse,
the king's oration, with the extract from that of Monsieur Calonne, together
with a song entitled ' Ronde Joieuse a l'Occasion de lAssemblee des
Notables.' x

Carlyle thus refers to the popular comments upon this event : — ' The
gaping populace gapes over Wood-cuts or Copper-cuts ; where, for example,
a Rustic is represented convoking the Poultry of his barnyard, with this

1 Several versions of the above subject appear: i. King seated under canopy, three notables and
three ecclesiastics on either side, M. Calonne reading speech. 2. King and his two brothers under canopy,
four nobles and four ecclesiastics on either side. 3. A much more elaborate performance, king and two
royal princes under canopy ; four nobles and six ecclesiastics, M. Calonne, and clerk at table ; a courtier on
each side of the composition.

218

ENGRAVED FANS

opening address : " Dear animals, I have assembled you to advise me what
sauce I shall dress you with"; to which a Cock responding, "We don't want
to be eaten," is checked by "You wander from the point (Vous vous dcartez
de la question)." Laughter and logic ; ballad-singer, pamphleteer ; epigram
and caricature : what wind of public opinion is this — as if the Cave of the
Winds were bursting loose ! '

Of the events which immediately preceded and culminated in that of
the 14th July, the fan says little, except in reference to that dread disease
' consumption of the purse.' The people have their States-General — the
king is represented as leaning upon a bust of Necker, and holding a cor-
nucopia from which issues gold ; inscribed above, ' L'Heureuse Union des
trois litats Ge'ndraux sous le bon plaisir de Louis Auguste xvi. par les
soins de Mr. Necker en 1789.'

On another fan (brisd) the three orders of clergd:, noblesse, and Tiers
litat appear represented by single figures in medallions.

Of two fans having reference to the enforcement of public contribu-
tions by Necker, one figures Louis and the dauphin standing before an
open box, with a Necker, who has developed wings, opening the box and
abstracting a bag of money : other matters, less significant, appear. On
the other fan is figured a lady and gentleman in a carriage driving
through a wood, with a parcel under the carriage inscribed Contributions ;
an officer with a woman riding on the opposite side of the fan, the two
meeting at the junction of the two roads.

And so we reach the lurid 14 Juillet. To describe this siege of the

Bastille passes the talent of mortals ; how much more that of the frail

fan ! — Of the actual storming, therefore, not a word ; we are given instead

a view of the fortress with the white flag floating from the turret.

M. de Launay's house is in flames, he himself is led between Jame" and

the clock-maker, Hemert, under arrest. Another fan gives us a view of

the Bastille with the drawbridge down, De Launay wringing his hands,

219

HISTORY OF THE FAN

bemoaning his fate, led prisoner. On the right of the fan are soldiers
headed by Elie with the paper of capitulation on the end of his sword,
two Invalides imploring mercy.

A third fan shows, in a large medallion, a view of the battlements,
with an unfortunate soldier being flung from the height, as De Launay
himself had been threatened. In the foreground De Launay dragged in
custody. The fan (brisd) strung with a tricolour ribbon.

In a fourth fan the Bastille is relegated to the distance, a company
of soldiers drawn up at its gates. In the foreground Liberty is seated
with cap in one hand, and in the other a scroll labelled ' Epoque de la
LiberteV Above, a winged figure blowing a trumpet, on the drapery of
which is inscribed 'Prise a la Bastile le 14 Juilet 1789'; in the right
hand a cockade : the subject forming a medallion mounted in the centre
of an ivory fan cut in fretwork and decorated with trophies, etc., in
gold and colour. An example of this fan was sold at the Walker sale
in 1882. 'Souvenir de la Bastille* gives a view of the building with
neighbouring street. ' Imp et Fabrique d'Eventails Rabiet. J. Ganne"
Suctf 63 Bould Mdnilmontant, Paris. Degovrnay, Editeur. 28 Rue
Mazarine, Paris.' On the back — fleurs de lys and Vive le Roy, 1789.

A sixth shows the conquerors issuing from the drawbridge, De Launay
and ' Le lieutenant ' in great distress ; on the reverse the fan sings
' L'rlpoque de la Libertd':

' Vive Vive la liberte,
C'est le cri de toute la France,
Le Parisien est en gaite,
II va combattre, en assurance
Le bonheur desire longtems
Ne se voit plus en equilibre,
Tous les cceurs se trouvent contens,
Vive le roi d'un peuple libre.

220

ENGRAVED FANS

A Dieu Bastille, a dieu Cachots
Sejour a jamais execrable,
Plus de victimes ni de maux
Dans votre enceinte abominable,
Bientot a nos yeux £blouis
Comme on en voit aux bords du Tibre
La Colonne portant Louis
Annoncera le peuple libre.'

The Bastille has vanished, the fan remaining as souvenir to be sold
for a few sous, and fluttered by the cheek of some light-hearted grisette.
' Tiens ! ' she exclaims, ' La prise de La Bastille ! c'est belle, n'est-ce pas ? '
as happily ignorant of the trend of events as majesty in its gilded
chamber. ' Mais,' says the poor king, ' c'est une rdvolte ! ' ' Sire, it is
not a revolt, — it is a revolution.'

The era of universal liberty has indeed arrived. In ' Les Droits de
1' Homme, 1789,' Liberty dons her cap, seats herself upon a pedestal to
be saluted by all good citizens with song, dance, and flowers ; the former,
duly inscribed on the fan, commencing ' Veillons au Salut de l'empire.'

In a variation of this subject La Liberte" holds a plummet and triangle
in her right hand, in the other a staff surmounted by a cap of Liberty ;
the pedestal inscribed, ' Liberte, figalitd, Fraternitd, UniteV

In a third fan La Liberte- becomes ' Patrone des Fran^ais,' and is still
provided with plummet and cap.

In ' Le Serment Civique, 1789,' the attributes only of Liberty appear,
in the shape of three flaming hearts and cap on a flaming altar. Mayor
Bailly and Lafayette take the oath, to the accompaniment of a song
commencing ' Fran^ais, quand je pense a nos maux.'

The Revolution is therefore sanctioned — one of its earliest results

being Le Dem^nagement du Clerge\ On the fan we see a group of

bishops, monks, nuns, a number of servants carrying furniture and other

effects. A bishop, with pipe and bottle, is seated on the top of a baggage-

221

HISTORY OF THE FAN

wagon on which is inscribed, 'J'ai perdu mes benefices, Rien n'egale ma
douleur.' A monk, also smoking, is riding on the horse and flourishing a
flag inscribed, ' Guidon.' ' Messieurs of the Clergy, you have to be
shaved ; if you wriggle too much, you will get cut.' '

In the ' Ddsespoir des Pensionnaires,' we are introduced to a group
of figures who are bewailing their loss ; a messenger in cockaded hat is
delivering the notices.

Cockades, indeed, were at this period ' de rigueur ' — the ladies wore
them in front of their head-dresses — wore gauze bonnets trimmed on
either side with them, a great bow of tricoloured streamers at the back.
Stripes everywhere — stripes and cockades, cockades and stripes — stripes
on the dresses, slippers, and even the huge muffs of the women ; stripes
on the waistcoats, stockings, and gloves of the men. The patriotic
Frenchmen and Frenchwomen of 1789 were the very incarnation of the
tricolour ; it was the symbol of the gospel of the Revolution, Blue of
Liberty, White of Equality, Red of Fraternity.2

The Fete de la Federation, 1790, is commemorated on a fan giving in
the centre a view of the altar in the Champ de Mars, with Lafayette
waving the tricolour, the fan incribed ' Le Serment fait sur l'Autel de la
Patrie le 14 Juillet 1790, la voix de Mr. la Fayette, Major de la Confedera-
tion s'est fait entendre au Champ de Mars.' On either side are busts of
King Louis and Lafayette, inscribed ' Louis xvi., Roi des Francais nd a
Versailles le 23 Aoust 1754.' ' M. De La Fayette Com. Gene, de la Garde
Nat. Parisienne.'

On another fan the altar, with surrounding booths, arches, etc., and
groups of soldiers dancing. On either side eight verses of a poem, com-
mencing, ' Voila la Fete de la Federation,' etc., to the air ' Vive Henri iv.' 3

1 Dictionnaire des Hommes Marguans, ii. p. 519, quoted by Carlyle.

2 Richard Heath, 'Politics in Dress,' Woman's World, June 1889.

3 In the Musee du Louvre is a remarkable drawing of the great arch, with a vast concourse of people, by
Jean Louis Prieur, illustrated in Lady Dilke's work, French Engravers and Draughtsmen 0/ the Eighteenth Century.

222

The A6oUti<m. of' the. SltLve Trade.

HililZotAio-ti^ Ma£^yn*iLe-^£*<xrLS .

'Ca&riolet' Fan..

S*/L~iitr £M"StUuLM,

watw.

ENGRAVED FANS

The 'Day of Poignards' (February 28, 1791) approaches, and friends
of Royalty (les chevaliers de poignard) rally round the son of sixty kings.
We all know the issue : chevaliers retreated with greater expedition
than they came — flung ignominiously downstairs into the darkness
of the Tuileries garden, accelerated by ignominious shovings from the
sentries — ' spurnings a posteriori, not to be named.' ' Our veracious
chronicler the fan provides us with a representation of the scene. The
inscription, 'Arestation e Ddsarmement de gens au suspects Chau des
thuileries le 28 Fer 1791 a ioh du soir,' with six verses of a revolutionary
song, entitled, ' La Soirde des Poignards,' the refrain :

' Quoi l'habit bleu vous fait peur
Valeureux Aristocrates,
Ouoi l'habit bleu vous fait peur
Brave ci-devant Seigneur.'

The event of the 2nd of April could not pass without the fan's
comment ; we therefore have a medallion profile portrait of Mirabeau,
inscribed, ' Honore" Gabriel Riquetti, C'e de Mirabeau. Mort le 2 Avril
1791.'

A second Mirabeau fan, in the possession of M. Philippe de Saint-
Albin, has in the centre a portrait bust, above which is inscribed,
' Honore Gabriel Riquetti Mirabeau,' and ' Je combattrai les factieux de
tous les partis ' ; on either side of the portrait two medallions, the
subjects including Mirabeau as tribune, and the great orator on his
deathbed.

Assignat-fans, 1791, refer to the difficulties with respect to paper-
money, the woes of the holders of rentes, when paper-money was not
worth one-tenth of its face value, and draw a contrast between the Dives
of the past and the financier of the present. On the obverse, a medley of
assignats of 1791-2; on the reverse, the two Jeans, the one in ragged

1 Carlyle.
223

HISTORY OF THE FAN

clothing and poor surroundings, weeping over his assignats, crying, ' lis

sont tombds,' and

' Vous etes Etonnes, je m'en apper^ois Bien :
Qu'avec du papier je ne possede Rien ' ;

the other, 'Jean qui Rit,' the speculator, who exchanges one louis d'or
for 10,000 livres in assignats, is seated at a table with a large coffer and
numerous bags filled with gold. He points to his brother ' Jean qui
Pleure' and says, 'II se desole,' and 'A de certaines gens, je ne me suis
point fie. Ce Rdsultat pour moi, vaut mieux que du papier.'

On several assignat-fans the money card, the seven of diamonds, is
introduced, its significance being sufficiently obvious.

And royalty in its gilded saloon, what has become of it ? How fares
it with the poor Louis and his devoted family ? That flight from the Rue
de l'Echelle in the darkness of the night of the 20th June 1791, when the
lady shaded in broad gypsy-hat, tapped, from sheer playfulness, with her
badine — ' light little magic rod such as the Beautiful then wore — the
wheel of Lafayette's carriage as it rolled past ' ; this goes unrecorded, as
also the incident in the village of Sainte-Menehould, when Post-master
Drouet recognises a familiar face in the lady with the slouched gypsy-hat
and the ' Grosse-Tete ' in round hat and peruke. 'Quick, Sieur Guillaume,
Clerk of the Directoire, bring me a new Assignat ! Drouet compares the
Paper-money Picture with the Gross Head in round hat there : by Day and
Night ! you might say this one was an attempted engraving of the other.' J

And so event succeeds event — over the final tragedy of the 21st
January 1793, no less than over the more piteous scene of October 16,
the fan discreetly draws a veil.

Several fans have for their subject the Testament du Louis xvi., and
give medallion portraits of the king and various members of his family,
with the symbol of immortality ; the inscription, ' Testament De Louis

1 Carlyle.
224

}

ENGRAVED FANS

Seize, Ne" Le 23 Aoust 1754. Mort le Lundi 21 Janvier 1793.' On the
sides or reverse of the fans, the will written out at length.

In ' Le Songe,' a female figure is represented asleep ; on a tomb in
the centre of the fan, a figure of Louis appears when the fan is placed
against the light ; the representation being veiled or concealed by means of
a thin piece of paper pasted over it.

Mourning-fans were common with the more loyal portion of the
community ; these also consisted of concealed portraits of Louis and his
family, and are usually decorated with black gauze and spangles ; the
inscription, ' Vive le Roi ! '

A favourite device was a pansy or heart's-ease (' that 's for thoughts '),
with the portraits appearing on the principal petal, upon the fan being
held against the light. These obtained later, when popular opinion,
becoming tired of the Revolution and its consequences, was again veering
round in the direction of Royalty.

But who is this pale-faced citoyenne of aristocratic mien, in high
' constitutional ' hat, with black cockade, fan in hand, asking leave to speak
with citizen Marat? . . . Charlotte's fan is mentioned in the deposition
of Laurent Bas, who was working in the house at the time ; certain it is
that the fan was not relinquished when the blow was struck. The ' trade,'
fearful lest the event should cast discredit on their goods, immediately
brought out fans 'a la Marat.' The most popular of these reproduce
the tribune with Lepelletier, Charlier, and Barras. This, with its burden
of pikes and caps of Liberty, was bought by the Jacobin customers at
forty-eight livres a gross. An example occurs in the Bibliotheque
Nationale, where, singularly enough, it is pasted in an album bearing the
arms of Marie-Antoinette, and is believed to have been arranged by the
queen herself.1

On another fan, ' Liberty ' is seated between medallion portraits of

1 Henri Bouchot, History on Fans.
2 F 225

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Marat and Lepelletier ; the inscription, ' Marat,' ' Liberte" UniteV ' Peletier.'
Ultimately the event itself figured as the principal subject of a fan,
Charlotte being represented as carrying a dagger in one hand and a fan
in the other.

The debate on the 4th February 1794 on the abolition of the slave-
trade forms the subject of a fan (illustrated). Three years previously,
Gregoire and Robespierre had passed an act whereby coloured persons
born of free parents were placed on an equality with whites. The
fan-makers, ever ready to seize upon a popular incident, promptly issued
a fan with five figures, representing ' France,' ' Mercury,' ' The Colonies,'
' England,' and the ' United States,' holding scrolls with inscriptions
in English, heraldic devices on either side. La France, with shield
bearing staff of Unity and cap of Liberty, is saying, ' We find true
happiness but by making others happy.' Mercury, holding fetters, says,
' Don't go to deceive me nor believe you will escape. I extend my
power over Sea and Land, and my vengeance will find you even at the
end of the World.' ' The Colonies,' dressed after the fashion of Marmontel's
Incas, exclaims, ' Charming hope of Liberty, come and comfort my
agitated heart.' England, crowned, with a leopard crouching at her feet,
and holding 'The Colonies' by the hand, says, 'She offers me Guineas.'
The United States is represented by a black woman, plumed, with a
sheath of arrows over her shoulder ; the inscription, ' Independence and
trade all over the globe.' The etching is signed 'Martin.'

Cabriolets had appeared much earlier, and had continued in favour.
These formed the subject of printed as well as painted fans.1 From
Cabriolets it is but a step to Incroyables, who had their incredible cabriolets
as well as their racehorses with slim legs and tails cropped almost to
the root, the fan-makers indulging the public in their new-found Anglo-
mania. In these curious prints, a number of which were produced by

1 See page 164.
226

•s

ENGRAVED FANS

Carl Vernet, everything is incredible — the wheels of the 'cabs' incredibly
thin, the seats incredibly high, the figures of both sexes incredibly tall and
attenuated. 'Cabriolets,' says Mercier, 'are made lighter every day to
give increased speed in the race for wealth. . . . There are now three
things to admire in a fashionable " cab " — the silver body, the wheels, and
the horse ; the whole thing, including the owner and his groom, ought
not to weigh more than a good-sized portmanteau.'

Incredibility became the order of the day. The fashionables, who
abhorred the Revolution, adopted an incredible method of demonstrating
their sentiments ; hair was cut incredibly short behind, as it had been
cut for the victims of the scaffold during the reign of terror. Further
to recall the scene, they let it fall as at the moment of execution over
their eyes, this being the style a la victime. A balle des victimes was
given by its votaries, to which no woman was admitted who had not
had a relative guillotined.1

Once again assignat-fans made their appearance : upon the death
of the Republic and the birth of the Directoire, when the pendulum of
public opinion was once more swinging in the direction of Royalism,
the assignats being arranged so that the king's head appeared in the
centre of the fan. These, with defiant glances, were fluttered under the
noses of the police by the fair aristocrats of the Palais Egalite.2

Then came the period of the worship of Nature and the triumph of
Rousseau, with the cry of ' Long live the author of Emile, Le Contrat
Social, La Nouvelle Hdlo'ise\ ', Jean-Jacques being glorified in a triumphal
car drawn by two bullocks garlanded with roses.3

During the temporary lull by which every storm is followed, the
preternaturally high-waisted ladies banished ennui by devotion to the Love-
God ; and we have many ' Ruses de I Amour,' ' Triompkes de V Amour,

1 Richard Heath, 'Politics in Dress,' Woman's World, June 1889.

2 Henri Bouchot. 3 Henri Bouchot.

227

HISTORY OF THE FAN

etc. Cagliostro had some years previously departed pour 'lisle de Malthe.'
Marat, Danton, Robespierre, had been severally removed from the scene
of their activities : the fan-makers were at the point of despair at the
absence of a new sensation, when — enter le petit Caporal ! ! !

Among the myriad fans recording the multifarious activities of this
amazing personality,1 we have a representation of Wurmser surrendering
his sword to the young general, a small medallion on either side of the
battle, and a view of the city : the inscription, ' A Buonaparte Vienen.'
The border, formed of the word ' Buonaparte ' in large capitals surrounded
by rays of light, these alternated by laurel wreaths ; the fan excellently
engraved by Bertaux.

At the psychological moment of Bonaparte's appearance at the banquet
given in his honour at the 'Salle d'audience, 10 Dec. 1797,' his 'star,'
in the shape of the planet Venus, appeared in the heavens at midday.
Here indeed was an opportunity for the fan-makers, who promptly produced
a fan of an astrologer with telescope, surrounded by an excited crowd, who
declared the appearance to be a comet. This, says Henri Bouchot, gave
the signal to the Agr^ables who dressed themselves and their hair
a la comete, a I'dtoile, and showered stars in all directions.

We also have a reference to the proposals of peace to the allied
powers by Napoleon on his elevation as First Consul in 1799. Bonaparte
is here crowned by Fame and Peace ; points to a map of Europe held
by a figure of the French Republic, who also bears the tricolour inscribed,
' Nouvelles Republiques, Regne des Arts, Alliance avec les Fran^ais.'
From a pedestal the French cock utters its clarion note. To the left,
Victory inscribes on a monument the names of Napoleon's generals.
Above in a glory the legend, ' Paix Glorieuse An vi.'

On another fan referring to the same event, Napoleon is discovered

1 Of the two hundred engravings deposited in the Bibliotheque Nationale in this year (1796) a hundred
and fourteen were fan-designs mostly in praise of Napoleon. (Henri Bouchot, History on Fans.)

228

^v'^^

'■*>

Adrett&^re ^n- 7&a«s$t^

^cA^re^ee-r £oc/£*c£Zen~J$r&£cJn~ji,jajej4?n~

Aiarri-ciMe. ofNapoLeon, wvth- Marie Louise. BUL*tAiy<i* Na£»naU.Pa*u.

ENGRAVED FANS

standing by a figure of Peace who bears the olive branch ; the inscription,
' Bonaparte et La Paix.' Right and left are figures of Commerce and
Agriculture, and in the background a group of peasants express their joy.

In the really handsome fan engraved in stipple by Godefroy we have
an apotheosis of Bonaparte. A bust of the Emperor within an oak wreath
occupies the centre, with the genii of Immortality and Plenty bearing their
attributes ; on either side, allegories of Peace and War in medallions
associated with arabesque. The inscription, ' Dessine" Par Chaudet, Fon-
taine et Persier ; Grave Par Godefroy.' l

The great ' Descente en Angleterre, 1803/ forms the subject of a
number of fans. Napoleon, to the accompaniment of Fame's trumpet and
the rataplan of the drum-major, shows his troops the Channel, and points
to St. Paul's (!) and the Tower (French version), on an island.

The Channel is tunnelled (in imagination), troops pour through with
ammunition, cannon, and other paraphernalia of war. Above, a fleet
of vessels on the sea, and an army of balloons in the air, invade the
devoted island, which defends itself by means of captive kites, sky rockets,
and the guns booming from the fortifications at Dover. This in several
versions.2

The crowning of Napoleon as King of Italy at Milan, on May 23,
1805, is recorded, as also the Peace of Tilsit, 1807, by which Prussia was
stripped of almost half of its territory. On this latter fan, Napoleon, the
Emperor Alexander, and the King of Prussia appear on a raft.

In 1810 the Emperor, in all the bravery of feathers, leads the Archduchess
Marie-Louise to the altar of Hymen ; La France offering a diadem of stars.

1 Chaudet was a sculptor who made the first statue of Napoleon in his military dress, that on the
Vendome Column. Fontaine and Persier were architects to the Tuileries.

- Lord Stanhope, alluding to the medals prematurely struck in honour of Admiral Vernon's victories at
Portobello and Carthagena, says : ' Perhaps the most remarkable of all these mcdailles prematurees is that
struck by Napoleon for his intended conquest of England ; his head on the one side ; on the other, Hercules
struggling with a monster; the words "Descente en Angleterre"; and beneath, " Frapp^ a Londres,
mdccciv.'" — History of England, chap. xxii.

229

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Of fans referring to the Russian campaign of 1812 two appear in the
Schreiber collection. In the one, Napoleon is seen on horseback, attended
by a general, surveying his army, the troops saluting ; in the other, the
journey to Paris in a sledge drawn by three horses at full gallop, Napoleon,
wrapped up in furs, looking back on the wounded and dead lying in the
snow. Both fans inscribed, ' Aventuras de Bonaparte en Rusia en 1812.'

In the subject of the Nicaragua Canal the fan assumes the role of
prophet, and with this we must bring to a close this brief carnival of a
century. On the 12 Vend^miaire of the year xn., one Martin la Bastide
deposited in the Bibliotheque Nationale two prints of a fan setting forth his
scheme for uniting two oceans through the lake of Nicaragua. He had
already made the suggestion twelve years previously in Laborde's Histoire
abrdgde de la mer du Sud.

He was not, however, the first to demonstrate the feasibility of cutting
a canal at Nicaragua ; a similar proposal had been made by the Portuguese
navigator, Antonio Galvao, as early as 1550, and in the following year the
Spanish historian, Gdmara, submitted a memorial to Philip 11., urging in
forcible terms that the work be undertaken forthwith. ' The project was,
nevertheless, opposed by the Spanish Government, who concluded that a
monopoly of communication with their possessions in the New World was
of greater importance than a passage by sea to Cathay.'1

Two fans referring to this subject appear in the Schreiber collection ; in
the one, the map of Central America on the front, and of North America
on the reverse, a portion missing: and in the other, the composition
complete. The fan is adorned with, on the left, a group of allegorical
figures of the four Regions of the world listening to Mercury, the god of
commerce, who points out the course of the proposed canal ; on the right, a
reference to La Bastide's appeal to the King of Spain, who is here listening
to the voice of France urging him to complete the canal ; and an elaborate

1 Encyclopedia Britannica.
23O

ENGRAVED FANS

border of ships, tritons, etc., with a summary of La Bastide's investi-
gations. Alas for vain hopes, and the futility of human endeavour, the
best laid schemes are often doomed to disappointment, and it was not
until nearly a century had elapsed that the canal, which La Bastide foresaw,
though as through a glass darkly, had any prospect of realisation.1

1 A company obtained a concession ratified 15th April 1877. The Maritime Canal Company was
organised May 1899, and in the following year a construction company was incorporated. The question
whether the canal would be constructed by this route or on the Panama route was still undecided in
September 1902. — Encyclopaedia Britannica,

IVORY FAN. (Madras. Nineteenth Century.)

231

CHAPTER X

ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH

CENTURIES. PART II.

IN England the fan's comments on the public
events of the eighteenth and the latter years
of the preceding century begin with a satirical
allusion to the intrigues of European diplo-
macy concerning the affairs of Poland. Ten
female figures representing France, Spain,
Sardinia, Empire, Saxony, Russia, Poland,
Britannia, Holland, and Prussia are seated
round a table, the first seven playing piquet ; an empty chair, labelled
' I pray to God for peace,' is reserved for the Pope (Innocent xi.), who is
seen on the left protesting that he does not understand the game. A
figure in civilian dress in the foreground is holding a scroll which is
lettered, ' 'Tis not the interest of the nation to play without advantage. In
time Commerce might pay the cards.' On the extreme right is the
Sultan of Turkey on horseback, exclaiming, ' If you don't leave off, I'll
tear the cards,' with the Shah of Persia on foot, saying, ' Seigneur Jack,
Persia shall make you change your note.' The date is between 1679 and
1689, the period of the pontificate of Pope Innocent xi.

The coronation banquet of George 11. in Westminster Hall, on October
11, 1727, is recorded in an extremely primitive etching. The king and
queen are enthroned on a dais in the centre of the fan ; in the background

are galleries of spectators, and in front the champion of England throws

232

••a

ENGRAVED FANS

down his gauntlet. The subject is enclosed in a cartouche, and on the
sides of the fan are the crown, sceptre, ampulla, vestments, etc. ; the
whole rudely coloured by hand.

It was, possibly, as some recompense for its author's gallant defence of
their most powerful weapon that the ladies helped to swell the tide of
prosperity of the Beggar s Opera, produced in November of this same
year (1727). Fans were carried illustrating the favourite songs of the
piece, which enjoyed its successful run of sixty-three nights, ' making
Gay rich and Rich gay.'

The defeat and withdrawal of Sir Robert Walpole's excise scheme
provided the occasion for many satires which appeared during the year
1733. In these Walpole is represented as an itinerant quack doctor, and
as an exciseman, in which latter character he was hanged and burned
in effigy on April 12th of the same year.

In the fan a comparison is drawn between Walpole and Wolsey, and
on a medallion portrait of the last named is inscribed :

' Wolsey and his Successor here in one behold.
Both serv'd their masters, both their Country Sold.'

A figure is seen walking in a garden with two papers in his hands, the
one inscribed, ' Liberty and Property,' and the other, ' No Dutch Politicks.
Down with the Excise.' In the mid-distance a figure holds a purse and
draws attention to the portrait of Wolsey. Two barrels are figured in the
foreground, together with the Excise Monster in the throes of death, on the
body of which are inscribed the various articles affected, as Printing, Salt,
Malt, Gin, etc.

The print has apparently been cut down, and evidently forms part of
a design or series of designs.

M. Gamble advertises as follows in the Craftsman of June 9, 1733 : —

' This day is published for all Loyal Ladies, an Excise Fan ; or the Political
2G 233

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Monster as described in Fog's Journal, May the 5th, curiously delineated, Being a
Memorial for Posterity. In this most agreeable fan is represented :

' I. A Picture of Cardinal Wolsey (the first Excise Master of England) done
from an original Painting.

II. A view of his Feats on one Hand, and those of his Successor on the
other.

III. An English Lawyer with two honest Briefs.

IV. The famous Monster-Monger, Ferdinando Ferdinandi, drawn to the

Life.
V. The Death of the Excise Monster.

VI. A modern Inquisition with an Assembly of Merry Spectators (as Vintners,
Tobacconist, etc.) of Ferdinando's Lamentation over his departed Beast.

' Now!

'Tis in the Power of every British Fair
To turn Excises of all kinds to Air.

' Sold by M. Gamble at the Golden Fan in St. Martin's Court near Leicester
Fields. Price 2s. 6d.'

On August 25 of the same year, M. Gamble again advertises the fan

and adds : —

' This is the Fan mentioned in the London Magazine; it will be very useful at all
meetings for nominating Members of Parliament, not only for cooling the Heats which
may arise, but to show the nature of an arbitrary Monster.

' Now is the Time when every British Fair
May turn Excises of all kinds to air.

'There is now published the third Edition with additions.'

The marriage of the Crown Princess with the Prince of Orange in 1734
was the occasion of much rejoicing, and the nuptials were celebrated with
the greatest magnificence, the prince receiving with his bride the sum of
^80,000 as portion. In an address to His Majesty from the loyal and
dutiful citizens of London, the greatest glory, the brightest triumphs,
the most distinguished prosperity are presaged from another alliance
with that truly illustrious house, the house of Nassau ; ' from whence

234

ENGRAVED FANS

so many heroes have sprung, the scourges of tyrants and the asserters
of liberty.'

The fan joins in the general congratulatory chorus ; a view of the
marriage ceremony in the French Chapel of St. James's Palace is given ; the
King and Queen, with the royal family, are seated in boxes at the back.

There was an allegorical version of this event, in which the contracting
parties appear in classic costume, with a bishop and other persons in the
background in the costume of the period. In front Hymen lights his torch
from that of Cupid. In other parts of the composition are seen : An infant
embracing a lamb, a pelican in her piety, an infant Hercules killing serpents,
etc. The whole surrounded by an orange border.

Several variations of this are extant, one omitting the orange-trees, with
a border printed from another plate.

The following advertisement appeared in the Craftsman for July 7,

1733 :—

'Just Published

' By Jonathan Pinchbeck, Fanmaker, at the Fan and Crown in New Round
Court in the Strand ; and sold by him, and at the Fan-shops of London and West-
minster.

' The Nassau Fan ; or Love and Beauty Triumphant : Being an Encomium on the
Nuptial Ceremony which will shortly be consummated between his Highness the
Prince of Orange and the Princess Royal of England ; adorned with the Pictures of
those illustrious Personages, attended by Hymen, Fame, Minerva, Cupids, etc.
Together with a copy of Verses and other Decorations suitable to the occasion.

' N.B. — Beware of Counterfeits ; the true original Nassau Fans having the name
(Pinchbeck) prefix'd to the mount.'

On August 1 8th this advertisement is repeated, with the additional

statement that ' there are a few neatly printed on leather for the curious,'

and a note to the following effect : — ' A spurious edition of the Nassau Fan

has been lately offer'd to the publick, in Prejudice to the Original Nassau

Fan ; but as all Persons that have seen both are fully satisfy'd that it bears

235

HISTORY OF THE FAN

no comparison with the former, 'tis no wonder that the Design to lessen the
original in the esteem of the Publick, proves as fruitless as the Attempt is
unfair and ungenerous ' ; this evidently referring to the following, which had
appeared in the Craftsman a week earlier, August 1 1 : —

' This day is Published

' The New Nassau Fan, humbly dedicated to her Royal Highness Princess

Anne,

By her Highness's most humble

and devoted servant,

Richard Hylton.

' In this fan is represented the Portraitures of his Highness William, Prince of
Orange and Nassau, etc., and her Royal Highness Princess Anne (done from the
original Painting of Van Dyke and Hysing), in an Orbit, supported by Cupids,
adorn'd with other emblematical Ornaments, disposed in a curious and beautiful
Manner.

' To be had of the aforesaid Richard Hylton, at the Golden Fan in Great George
St., Hanover Square.'

On September ist this advertisement is repeated, with the addition of

the following couplet : —

' Just Heaven does Anne and Nassau joyn,
To glad great George and Caroline.'

And the following reply to Pinchbeck's advertisements of 7th July and 18th
August : —

' N.B. — This is to inform that ingenious Gentleman (who calls himself) the
Proprietor of a Nassau Fan, that he has been guilty of a very gross Error, and has
prejudiced himself by informing the Publick that he knows no Difference between
a Fan which is made like the Frontispiece of a Halfpenny Ballad, and one that's
done in a curious Manner by one of the best Hands in England.'

This sally calls forth the following rejoinder from Pinchbeck, who, on
September 15th, repeats his former advertisement, with this footnote: —

'N.B. — I would not have the splenetick Author of (as he calls it) the loyal Nassau
Fan imagine that I think him capable either of doing, or saying, any Thing Worthy of
Notice, tho' for once I condescend to inform him that the Publick are sufficiently

236

■

r/£« Motion. J74J.

The New Nassaxt, Fan. ^33.

Sc-kre-ts&er ColL^HriXijh-AluJetim..

ENGRAVED FANS

convinc'd of his Ignorance in putting his Trifle in Competition with the Original
Nassau Fan, as well as of his Malice in perverting the Sense of my Advertisement.
I shall, however, submit my Performance to the judgment of the Publick, and not
trouble them with quackish Epistles quite foreign to the Purpose.

' Beware of Counterfeits. The Original Nassau Fan having the name
(Pinchbeck) prefix'd to the Mount.'

On September 22nd, Pinchbeck repeats his advertisement, and once
again cautions the public against counterfeits. (In the highest esteem
among the Ladies, and infinitely surpasseth every Thing of the Kind
offered to the Publick.)

A month earlier a fresh candidate for public favour had appeared in
the shape of the 'Orange Fan,' a composition of an orange-tree and a
rose-bush, with a view of London in the distance, a three-masted vessel
in the foreground, and above, a dove holding in his beak a letter addressed
' To The Lovely She, Who has more than 80,000 Charms ' ; on the upper
and lower border of the fan, an ode in five stanzas, ' set to Music : Tune,
Let 's be Jolly ; fill our Glasses.'

This was advertised by M. Gamble in the Craftsman for August
25th, the charms of the ' Lovely She ' being reduced in the advertisement

to 30,000.

' Once more the Orange joins the British Rose,

And fragrant Sweets they mutually disclose;

Entwin'd by Nature's Bonds, their Charms unite,

And from the Foil the Jewel shines more bright.'

The price of the Mount painted in proper colours, is. 6d.
Ready mounted upon neat sticks, 2s. 6d.

The ' New Nassau Fan,' advertised by Hylton, is here given, and
must certainly be said to bear very fair comparison with Pinchbeck's.
The portraits of the royal pair occupy a medallion in the centre, sup-
ported by Cupids above; two winged figures are holding a wreath and
blowing trumpets, from which are suspended the royal arms of the two
respective countries.

237

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Below is a ribbon inscribed, ' Ad Altiora Speramus,' with a Cupid

holding a royal crown and star. A scroll, at the extremities of which are

two medals of George n. and William the Silent, Prince of Orange, is

inscribed :

' Brittons now yr Poems sing,

Love and Beauty Garlands bring ;

Heavens Ann and Nassau joyn

To glad George and Caroline.'

In addition are figures of Peace with olive branch and dove, and
Liberty holding cap on a staff, together with a Bible inscribed ' B. Sacra,'
a lion at her feet.

The fan is freely etched, coloured by hand, and mounted on plain
wavy wooden sticks.

Pinchbeck continued to advertise his fan until April 20, 1734,
when, presumably, popular interest in the affair waned.

In 1730-33, Hogarth produced his ' Harlot's Progress ' (commenced at
the time of his marriage), its various scenes being promptly pirated by the
fan-makers. Mr. F. G. Stephens, in his Catalogue of Political and Personal
Satires, British Museum, vol. iii. part 1, page 28, refers to fans printed
with copies from ' A Harlot's Progress,' three designs being on each side of
the fan, usually printed in red ink. These fans, says Nichols, Hogarth's
biographer, were customarily given to the maid-servants in Hogarth's
family, doubtless as moral lessons.1 M. Gamble had advertised them
during the year 1733 in the Craftsman and Daily Journal. In a footnote
to his advertisement of the Church of England fan we have the following : —

N.B. — ' For those that are Curious, a small number are work'd off on fine Paper,
fit to Frame. Likewise a new Edition of the ' Harlot's Progress' in Fans, or singly to
Frame.' — Daily Journal, Jan. 24, 1733.

By the kindness of Mr. C. Fairfax Murray we are enabled to illustrate

1 'Hogarth,' says Walpole, 'resembles Butler; but his subjects are more universal, and amidst all
his pleasantry, he observes the true end of comedy — reformation. There is always a moral to his
pictures.'

238

-' V

W M :

ENGRAVED FANS

an excellent example of one of these very rare fan leaves, inscribed in ink
(probably by the collector Baker), 'Given to me by Mrs. Hogarth, 1781.'
In the centre is the quack doctor, printed in a greenish yellow, the two
side scenes of ' Bridewell ' and the ' Funeral ' in a rich red, the fan being
engraved in pure line. The scenes are inscribed respectively — ' In a high
Salivation'; 'In Bridewell beating of Hemp'; and the 'Funeral'; with
suitable explanatory verses.

Other fans were issued, these probably by another publisher, giving the
various scenes grouped together, the figures slightly rearranged to suit
the space, indifferently etched in outline, and printed in red on skin. Five
leaves appear in the Schreiber collection ; the first gives the whole composi-
tion ; the second, the same, with several scenes omitted ; the third, with
further omissions ; the fourth, with the central subject only, of the arrival of
' Mary Hackabout in London,' partially coloured by hand ; the fifth, a
spoiled, indistinct print, covered with a Chinese landscape printed in black,
the evident intention being to utilise the skin mount.

The print of the Midnight Modern Conversation, 1733, copied by salt-
glazed potters of the period, and appearing on snuff-boxes and punch-
bowls, for the latter of which it was eminently suitable, was used also for a
fan mount.

In this print, to quote Mr. Austin Dobson, a party of eleven, whose
degrees of intoxication are admirably differentiated, have finished some two
dozen bottles of claret ; and at four in the morning are commencing a
capacious bowl of punch, presided over by a rosy-gilled parson — the

' Fortem validumque combibonem
Laetantem super amphora repleta '

of the Westminster Latinist, Vincent Bourne ; but in real life identified
both with the famous 'Orator' Henley, and the Rev. Cornelius Ford, a
dissolute cousin of Dr. Johnson.

239

HISTORY OF THE FAN

In the Daily Journal for May 24, 1733, we have the following

advertisement : —

' This Day is Published,

' A Beautiful Mount for a Fan, call'd the Midnight Modern Conversation, curiously
performed from that incomparable Design of that celebrated Artist the ingenious Mr.
Hogarth ; to which is prefixed, for the Entertainment of the Ladies, a Description of
each particular Person that Gentleman hath introduced in that Night Scene. Sold at
Mr. Chinavax's great Toyshop against Suffolk-street, Charing Cross ; Mr. Deard's
against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street ; Mrs. Cambal in St. Martin's Court ; and by
B. Dickinson at Inigo Jones' Head against Exeter Change in the Strand, at which
Place they may be had Wholesale at reasonable Rates.'

No print of this fan-mount is available for reproduction.

The victory of Admiral Vernon in his good ship the Burford at
Portobello, on the 22nd November 1739, though not a particularly
significant feat even with six ships of the line, was immensely popular
with the masses. It was a familiar subject with the potters, especially
the Staffordshire potter Astbury, who commemorated it on tea-pots,
mugs, and the Portobello bowl.

The fan is not very interesting as a design, the six ships appearing
to overpower the fortress, which was an old one. Five stanzas of verse
appear, expressing the determination to avenge the wrongs of Britons, to
support her injured trade, etc.

' Hark, the British Cannon thunders,
See, my Lads, six Ships appear ;
Every Briton acting Wonders,
Strikes the Southern World with fear.

Porto Bello, fam'd in Story,

Now at last submits to fate ;
Vernon's courage gains us Glory,

And his Mercy proves us great.'

The etching is signed ' F. Chassereau, April ye 22, 1740.'

240

ENGRAVED FANS

Vernon's exploit at Carthagena, April i, 1740, is also recorded ; on the
left, a view of the English camp ; on the right, the flying inhabitants,
including a figure named ' Don Bias ' ; the fan inscribed ' Cartagena.'

The motion by Mr. Sandys in the House of Commons on January 29,

1740, and that of Lord Carteret in the House of Lords on February 13,

1 74 1, to remove Sir Robert Walpole (who at that time was exceedingly un-
popular) from his post of Prime Minister, is commemorated on a fan which
is a free copy from a print published by T. Cooper at the Globe in
Paternoster Row, 1741, and referred to in a letter of Horace Walpole,
written from Florence to his friend Conway, March 25, 1741 : 'I have
received a print by this post that diverts me extremely : the Motion.
Tell me, dear, now, who made the design, and who took the likenesses :
they are admirable ; the lines are as good as one sees on such occasions.
I wrote last post to Sir Robert, to wish him joy ; I hope he received my
letter.'

The scene is Whitehall, with the Treasury in the distance. A coach
containing Lord Carteret, who is leaning out of the window and crying,
' Let me get out,' is driven by the Duke of Argyll, brandishing a flaming
sword, the Earl of Chesterfield as postilion. Bubb Dodington, in the form
of a spaniel, is seated between the Duke's legs. Lord Cobham behind as
footman. Lord Lyttelton follows on horseback, whip in hand. Several
persons are being overridden by the coach, which is nearly overturned.
Mr. Sandys, in the foreground, is dropping the ' Place Bill,' and ex-
claiming, ' I thought what would come of putting him on the box.'
Pulteney, exclaiming, 'Z — ndsl they're over,' and leading his followers
by the nose, wheels a barrow laden with ' Craftsman,' ' Letters to the
Earl,' 'State of Nat — ', 'Champion,' 'Common Sense,' etc., with a dice
box and dice. Dr. Smalbroke, Bishop of Lichfield, accompanied by three
pigs (one only in the original print), bows obsequiously.

The ten verses which appeared on the print are inscribed on the
2H 241

HISTORY OF THE FAN

right hand of the fan. In ' nigger ' parlance they at once propound ques-
tions and supply the answers, thus :

' Who be dat de Box do sit on ?
Tis John, the Hero of North Britain,
Who out of Place does Placemen spit on.

Doodle, etc.

Who 's dat behind ? 'Tis Dicky Cobby,

Who first wou'd have hang'd and then try'd Bobby.

Ah, was not that a pretty Jobb-e.

Doodle, etc.

So, sirs, me have shown you all de Hero's,

Who put you together by the Ear-os,

And frighten you so with groundless Fear-os.

Doodle, etc'

Thomas Wright {Caricature History of the Georges) thus refers to the

prints : ' Several editions of " The Motion " were published, and one, in the

collection of Mr. Burke, is fitted for a fan. Another, very neatly drawn and

etched on a folio plate, and dated February 19th, contains great variations,

and wants much of the pointed meaning of the genuine print. They here

appear to be driving into a river. Pulteney and Sandys are omitted ; two

prelates hold on to the straps behind the coach, which seems in imminent

danger of falling; yet Carteret cries out to his driver, "John, if you drive

so fast, you '11 overset us all, by G — d." '

On the 2nd of March the ' Patriots ' retaliated with a caricature entitled

' The Reason,' in which we have another carriage with the portly form of

Sir Robert Walpole as coachman :

' Who be dat de box do sit on ?
Dat 's de driver of G — B — ,
Whom all the Patriots do spit on.'

In this print, the foppish and effeminate Lord Hervey, well known by

Pope's sarcastic title of ' Lord Fanny,' is riding, fan in hand, on a wooden

242

ENGRAVED FANS

horse, drawn by two men, one of whom cries, ' Sit fast, Fanny ; we are sure

to win.'

' Dat painted butterfly so prim-a,

On wooden Pegasus so trim-a,

Is something — nothing — 'tis a whim-a.'

The fan-makers were not slow in following up with a fan. On April 25,
the following advertisement appeared in the Craftsman : —

' This day is published, by J. Pinchbeck at the Fan and Crown in New Round
Court, in the Strand.

' The Reason for the Motion. A Satire, whereon are the Portraits of divers Noble
Personages. To which is annexed, Explanatory Verses, which will serve as a Key
to the Whole.

' Where may be had, All sorts of Fans and Fan- Mounts. The newest fashion,
and suited to the nicest Taste. Wholesale or Retail.

' N.B. — Gentlemen and Ladies may have any Device done in a curious Manner,
according to their own Direction.

' There is a Spurious Sort about the Town, which has not the Verses, and but part
of the Figures.'

The Jacobite rebellion of 1745 was commemorated by a fan leaf
engraved by Sir Robert Strange, intended for the sympathisers with the
Pretender. The moment for the rebellion was well chosen — the king was in
Hanover, the Duke of Cumberland had fought and lost Fontenoy in April
of the same year, and was still engaged in Flanders. The fan shows the
Prince in armour, with Cameron of Lochiel as Mars, and Flora Macdonald
as Bellona.

In the fan representing the apotheosis of the Young Pretender, the
Prince, supported by Mars and Bellona, is claiming the inheritance of the
English crown ; a figure of Fame bears the laurel wreath, at his side is an
altar blazing with devoted hearts, and above are Venus and Cupid seated on
a cloud. On the left, Britannia smiles through her tears as a dove
approaches bearing the palm branch, emblem of Peace. On the right,
Jupiter with his thunder scatters the Hanoverian faction into obscurity, and

243

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Rapine and Murder are prostrated. An example, carefully coloured, appeared
in the Walker sale in 1882, and passed into the possession of Lady Charlotte
Schreiber for the sum of £7. The stick is ivory, carved with subjects
and fretwork.

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, signed October 7, 1748, was celebrated in
the following April by a grand display of fireworks in the Green Park,
opposite to His Majesty's library. A fan fairly well engraved, the design
well disposed, shows a view of the temporary building erected for this
purpose, which consisted of a ' magnificent Doric temple,' with two
extended wings terminated by pavilions, the whole being one hundred
and fourteen feet high and four hundred and ten feet long. The exhibition
began about nine o'clock in the evening, and was introduced by ' a grand
overture of warlike instruments composed by Mr. Handel.' About eleven
o'clock the whole building was illuminated, in which state it continued till
between two and three in the morning ; His Majesty and the royal family
retiring about twelve.

The untimely death of the Prince of Wales in 1751 threw London into
mourning, the fan following suit with a portrait bust of Frederick on a
cenotaph, with mourning figures of Art, Science, and Britannia, a figure of
Hope with an anchor occupying the foreground. The fan here, true to
its antecedents, discovers more loyalty than did some of the rhymesters
of the period, one of whom produced an epitaph of which the following
is a portion : —

. . . ' Since 'tis only Fred,
Who was alive and is dead,
There 's no more to be said.'

Wolfe's victory in 1759, commemorated in Bow statuettes and Stafford-
shire busts and jugs, supplied the fan-makers also with a subject for illus-
tration : in a life of Wolfe it is mentioned that fans were printed of the

taking of Quebec.

244

ENGRAVED FANS

Admiral Rodney is another instance in which both potters and fan-
makers vied with each other in honouring the hero of the hour. The fan in
the Schreiber collection is delicately engraved in mezzotint, and shows
Rodney trampling upon the French and Spanish flags. Neptune is offering
a sea crown, while a Cupid above bears a laurel wreath. The picture is
supplemented by festoons, ribbons, and other devices ; the whole coloured
by hand.

The fan abundantly testifies to the popularity of the reigning house of
Hanover. Thus we have, in addition to the loyal fans already referred to,
a medallion portrait of George in., held in the hand of Neptune, who is
seated in his chariot drawn by four horses, and driven by a Cupid who
blows a blast from a trumpet. This designed by Uwins and engraved
in stipple by Cardon.

The king also appears as the subject of a large medallion on a pedestal
surrounded by Cupids and a figure of Fame with trumpet. In the fore-
ground are figures of Britannia and Commerce ; on a tripod with a flaming
heart is inscribed, ' The Heart of the Nation.' On each side the initials
G. R. and the royal crown. Published May 13, 1791, by A. P. Birman, the
fan being signed A. P. Birnam, Inv'- ; W. Hinks, Sculp'- This fan leaf is
a free copy from that engraved by D. Chodowiecki in 1787, commemorating
the accession of Frederick William 11. to the throne of Prussia, and was
made to do duty both for the King and the Duke of York by the altera-
tion of the bust, and the substitution of the initials D. Y. for G. R., the
arabesques re-engraved.

The royal family appear on six medallion portraits united by a ribbon,
with the royal crown, feathers, and a trophy of arms, flags, etc., the latter
indicating the martial proclivities of the Duke of York.1

1 A synopsis of English History, given on a fan, published 1793 by I. Cock and J. P. Crowder, con-
cludes by saying : ' We may with pleasure add that one of the Princes, His Majesty's 2d son, the Duke of
York, has lately gained honour for the English Nation by the eminent distinction of the British Troops
under his command before Valenciennes, in the humanity they joined to their valour. Vive, Vive le Roi ! '

245

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Another fan gives a large Royal Arms surmounted by the crowned lion,
with the rose and thistle and the initials G. R. in medallions on either side,
united by festoons of flowers with doves ; the royal motto, ' Dieu et mon
Droit,' on a scroll below ; the fan inscribed, ' Vive Le Roy.' Published by
T. Balster, March 19, 1789.

A ' Representation of a Royal Concert at Buckingham House ' is a copy
of an engraving by Barlow after a drawing by Cruikshank. ' Publish'd as
the Act directs, October 16, 1781, by J. Preston at his Music Warehouse,
No. 97, near Beaufort Buildings, Strand.' In the subject occupying the
centre of the fan, the king appears seated at the right-hand corner. At the
sides, a canone and canzonet by Giordani, together with a French and
Venetian canzonet, with music.

In 1788 the royal family honoured the exhibition of the Royal
Academy with a visit ; this event being commemorated on two fans
varying considerably in the number and disposition of the figures, and in
the arrangement of the background. The fan leaf in the Schreiber col-
lection is designed by ' P. Ramberg P. Martini, Sculpt. Pubd March 6,
1789, by A. Poggi, St. George's Row, Hyde Park,' this being from
Martini's original plate, also published by Poggi, cut down to the shape
of a fan.

The fan leaf at present in the collection at South Kensington is
printed on vellum and tinted, and is accompanied by an engraved key
to the different personages depicted on the fan.

The marriage of the Prince of Wales (afterwards George iv.) to

Princess Caroline of Brunswick, in 1795, provides the occasion for a fan,

with two oval medallion portraits in stipple of ' The Illustrious Pair,' on

either side of a large Prince of Wales's feathers. 'Publish'd Jan17 1, 1795,

by J. Read, 133 Pall Mall.' The same plate was printed in colours and

published on the same date. The ' Royal Pair ' again appear in the

form of medallion portraits, with the Royal Arms of Great Britain and

246

ENGRAVED FANS

Brunswick. Still another fan commemorative of this event shows bust
portraits of the prince and princess in the midst of a medley of prints,
riddles, etc., with a frieze of caricature busts of various personages.
' Published at Sudlow's Fan Warehouse, 191 Strand.'

'The Prince of Wales' (Schreiber collection of unmounted fan leaves,
No. 11) is a quite charming fan leaf. The medallion portrait is printed in
a warm brown, the field of the fan painted in blue of a pleasant quality,
the ornaments painted in silver and Chinese white. This is a scheme of
colour adopted on many fans of the period ; the four colours forming
an extremely effective harmony.

The popularity of Lord Howe's victory over the French on the
'glorious first of June,' 1794, is evinced by the frequency with which it
was commemorated on English pottery in the shape of statuettes,
medallions, mugs, jugs, etc. On the fan also we have the subject of a
seated Britannia bearing a medallion portrait of the admiral ; the union
jack, lion, cornucopia, and a figure of Fame completing the composition.
The fan inscribed, ' Lord Howe's decisive victory over the Grand French
fleet, June 1, 1794.' This published by B. Coker, 1:8 Fleet Street,
August 19, 1794. An example occurs in the collection of Mr. Burdett-
Coutts.

A ' view of the trial of Warren Hastings, Esq., at Westminster Hall '
in 1778, is given in the centre of a fan having oval medallions at the
sides with references to the numbers on the engraving, as follows : —

' A. Honble House of Commons. B. Foreign Ministers. C. Duke of New-
castle's Gallery. D. Councell for the Prosecution. E. Councell for the Prisoner.
F. Dukes, &c. &c. G. Peeresses. H. Board of Works. I. The Throne.
K. Recess for His Majesty. L. Recess for the Royal Family. M. Judges.
N. Lord High Chancellor. O. Vicounts and Barons. P. Warren Hastings, Esq.,
Prisoner. Q. Committee of the House of Commons.

'Publish'd as the Act directs by Cock & Co., No. 36 Snow Hill. Septr- 22nd'
1788.'

247

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Church-fans appeared in the early part of the century.1 These
were designed for the purpose of inculcating the spirit of true piety
during the hours of divine worship. Comments were made in the public
journals on the unsuitable character of fan mounts used in church, and
also on the general behaviour of persons of both sexes. These culminated
in an amusing satire which appeared in the form of a letter from Vetustus,
in the Gentleman's Magazine for May 1753. In this the writer expresses
some surprise that ' in the course of the controversy now on foot con-
cerning the expedience of a revision of our liturgy, no mention has been
made of some ceremonies introduced by certain polite persons of both
sexes, who, if they may not be styled the pillars, have undoubted right
to be called the ornaments of the Church of England. That of the snuff-
box may be allowed to obviate some part of the objection to the length
of the service, since it precludes the drowsy members of the congregation
from any subterfuge in that excuse of Horace :

" Operi longo fas est obrepere somnum."

The writer desires also 'to do a piece of justice to the ladies who have
lately contrived to improve the service of the Church, though by so
inconsiderable an implement as a fan mount ; for, reflecting that some
of the grosser sex may probably come to church chiefly on account of
these fair beings, and that the devotion of these their brethren might cool
by having the immediate object of it withdrawn from their view, during
the tedious intervals of prayer, they have been so charitable as to
supply them with some edifying subjects of contemplation, depicted on
the very cloud which intercepts the beatific vision.'

As an instance of the taste and discretion of these fair votaries, a

1 M. Gamble had advertised in the Craftsman during the year 1733 'The Church of England Fan;
being ati explanation of the Oxford Almanac for the year 1733, on which the several characters are curiously
done, in various beautiful colours. Price 2s. Likewise a new Edition of the "Harlot's Progress in Fans,"
with prints of all the three sorts fit to Frame. Sold at the Golden Fann in St. Martin's Court, near
Leicester Fields.'

248

ENGRAVED FANS

list is subjoined of a dozen designs elegantly executed, which were
actually displayed by way of screens to so many pretty faces, disposed
in a semicircular arrangement about the holy table :

i. Darby and Joan, with their attributes.

2. Harlequin, Pierrot, and Columbine.

3. The Prodigal Son with his harlots, copied from the 'Rake's

Progress.'

4. A rural dance, with a band of musick, consisting of a fiddle, a

bag-pipe, and a Welch-harp.

5. The taking of Porto Bello.

6. The Solemnities of a Filiation.

7. Joseph and his Mistress.

8. The humours of Change-Alley.

9. Silenus, with his proper symbols and supporters.

10. The first interview of Isaac and Rebecca.

11. The Judgment of Paris.

12. Vauxhall Gardens, with the decorations and company.

The writer is 'well aware that the authors of the free and candid

disquisitions will be humbly suggesting, in their canting way, whether

some of these figures may be altogether suitable to the original design

of that sacred rite, at which they assist on these occasions ; and whether,

if our British ladies are too nicely modest to worship God with naked

faces, they should not return to the ancient simplicity of a plain linnen

or Sarcenet veil, after the manner of the Jewish females. But, besides

that all impropriety is absolutely removed from these representations

by the mixture of so much Scripture history, these Cavillers must be

told that this is an old objection answered and baffled long ago by

the pious and conscientious Dr. Swift (whose tender concern for the

honour of the Church of England is well known) in a religious sonnet
2 1 249

HISTORY OF THE FAN

which closes with an elevated sentiment couched in the following

couplet :

" How beauteous is the Church, which makes clean linnen

As decent to repent in, as to sin in." '

This bone of contention, apparently, lasted during a considerable period.

In the Ladys Magazine for March 1776, a 'Female Reformer'
addresses to the fair sex some ' moral reflections ' on ladies' fans, and draws
attention to the loose, almost indecent, mounts ladies have to their fans
at the present day, giving too much reason to suppose that a coarse,
indelicate, and immodest picture is not so offensive to the view of the fair
as prudence, virtue, and chastity could wish. ' Not many Sundays ago,
I was seated in a dissenting place of worship in the next pew to two young
ladies, who appeared suitably attentive and devout ; but, happening to cast
my eyes on the fan mount of the youngest of the two, as she stood up
in prayer time, I was really ashamed to see naked Cupids, and women
almost so, represented as sleeping under trees, while dancing shepherds
and piping fawns compleated the shameful groupe. What a pity it is
that any lady should seem to countenance immodesty or indecency in the
least degree, especially in the house of God! Would it not have been
much better for ladies to have no fans at all, than to have such mounts
to them, as, on beholding, tend only to inflame the passions, and promote
the loosest ideas?'

Evidently this protest bore good fruit, as, three months later, a

church-fan of chaste design appeared. This gives, in the centre, a diagram

of a good woman's heart, divided, as a phrenological diagram divides the

brain, into the several virtues or attributes, as Charity, Humility, Chastity

and Honour, Virtue and Truth, etc. etc. Above the heart appears a

drapery inscribed, ' The Address of a Scripture Looking-glass to every

Woman ' — this consisting of the following texts : Proverbs xxxi. 30 ;

1 Peter iii. 3 ; 1 Timothy iv. 8. At the two extremities of the fan are

250

ENGRAVED FANS

scrolls with 'a description of a good woman,' and a poem entitled 'The
Wish' — this latter being a prayer and supplication to the Almighty to

' Be the guardian of the virtuous fair,
Bless them with all things that they truly need,
And in Religion's paths their footsteps lead.'

The whole design enclosed in a scroll with a rose and honeysuckle
filling the intervening spaces. Printed, as the Act directs, for J. French,
No. 17 Holborn Hill.

In May 1796 'the new church -fan' appears, a much more pre-
tentious design, engraved in stipple, and ' published with the Approbation
of the Lord Bishop of London.' The Ten Commandments are given in
the centre, with the Lord's Prayer and the Creed on either side ; these are
alternated with medallions of angels, above which are prayers for the king's
majesty and the royal family. At the extreme top of the fan is a figure
of the Holy Spirit with three cherubs, the whole being enclosed within
an elaborate border formed of royal crowns and Prince of Wales's
feathers.

Mindful of the protest of the 'Female Reformer' in the Lady's
Magazine, although perhaps somewhat belated (it will be remembered
that the ' naked Cupids and ladies almost so ' were observed in a dissenting
place of worship), the ' chapel -fan' appears, in July of this same year,
1796, having in the centre a large medallion of the resurrection of a pious
family, after a picture by the Rev. W. Peters, inscribed, 'Glory to God
in the Highest,' and on either side smaller medallions representing
'St. Cecilia' and 'The Infant Samuel at Prayer.' The fan is further
inscribed with a morning and evening prayer and two hymns — 'The
Example of Christ,' and ' On Retirement and Meditation.'

A number of fans were from time to time issued with subjects from
Scripture history, doubtless for church use, as 'The Birth of Esau and
Jacob,' in which we have an illustration of Rebekah in bed, attended by

251

HISTORY OF THE FAN

female servants ; ' Moses striking the Rock,' Published by M. Gamble,
according to the late Act, 1740; 'Paul Preaching at Athens,' etc. These,
however, are extremely weak productions, exhibiting none of that sense
of character distinguishing similar subjects treated by the Staffordshire
potter of this and a later period.

Mr. Thomas Osborne's Duck-Hunting records an event in the
history of a bookseller of Gray's Inn Gate, Holborn, at his country-house
at Hampstead in 1754. A certain Captain Pratten, who had obtained
some notoriety through his very particular attentions to the wife of Mr.
Scarlett, an optician of Soho, ' whose Microscope for viewing opake objects
is still in use,' but who, apparently, did not possess any microscope or
optic glass through which he might view events which were sufficiently
transparent to every one but himself, had proposed to Mr. Osborne
that by way of house-warming he should ingratiate himself with
the families of Hampstead, 'then a Watering-place and very gay,' by
giving a public breakfast for the ladies and a duck-hunting for the
gentlemen.

On the morning of the 10th of September of the year in question the
company assembled, the broad panniered petticoats of the ladies making
a very brave array, and, the breakfast and duck-hunting proving so
successful, our waggish Captain, who had installed himself master of the
ceremonies, mindful, doubtless, of his own private and particular duck-
hunting, persuaded the vain and simple bookseller to prolong the entertain-
ment, first by a cold collation and other diversions, and finally by a dance,
in which the ' younger part of the company tripped on the light fantastic
toe till bedtime.'

As a souvenir of the event, the gallant and resourceful Captain further

persuaded Mr. Osborne to have a fan engraved and presented to each

of the lady visitors.

This is engraved on both sides ; on the obverse, the duck-hunting,

252

/trTAom-as Ojoornej Duck Him tina.

o6re-rse (5L. reverse.

A$t>Arei6e.r CoU-^£iritijL Alujett-Tn-.

ENGRAVED FANS

with the Captain and his innamorata in the immediate foreground ; on the
reverse, a general view of the house and grounds.1

Conversation- or speaking-fans are devices by which the different motions
of the fan are made to correspond with the letters of the alphabet, a code
being established by means of which a silent and secret conversation is
carried on.

Five signals are given, corresponding to the five divisions of the
alphabet, the different letters, omitting the J, being capable of division into
five, the movements 12345 corresponding to each letter in each division.
1. By moving the fan with left hand to right arm. 2. The same movement,
but with right hand to left arm. 3. Placing against bosom. 4. Raising it
to the mouth. 5. To forehead.

Example : — Suppose Dear to be the word to be expressed. D belonging
to the first division, the fan must be moved to the right ; then, as the number
underwritten is 4, the fan is raised to the mouth. E, belonging to the same
division, the fan is likewise moved to the right, and, as the number under-
written is 5, the fan is lifted to the head and so forth. The termination of
each word is distinguished by a full display of the fan, and as the whole
directions with illustrations are displayed on the fan, this language is more
simple than at first sight might appear.

The Gentleman s Magazine for 1740 prints the following effusion, refer-
ring presumably to one of the earliest of these fans : —

' A speaking fan ! a very pretty thought ;
The toy is sure to full perfection brought :

1 In Boswell's Johnson are references to Osborne— to the purchase of the Harleian Library and the
publication of the Catalogue, and to the personal chastisement which Johnson inflicted on him: — 'It has
been confidently related, with many embellishments, that Johnson one day knocked Osborne down in his
shop, with a folio, and put his foot upon his neck. The simple truth I had from Johnson himself : " Sir,
he was impertinent to me and I beat him. But it was not in his shop ; it was in my own chamber." '

In Johnson's Life of Pope, Osborne is thus referred to :— ' Pope was ignorant enough of his own
interest to make another change, and introduced Osborne contending for the prize among the booksellers.'
(Dunciad, ii. p. 167.)

'Osborne was a man entirely destitute of shame, without sense of any disgrace but that of poverty.'
{Johnson's Works, viii. p. 302.)

253

HISTORY OF THE FAN

It is a noble, useful, great design,

May the projector's genius ever shine !

The fair one now need never be alone !

A hardship sometimes on the sex is thrown ;

For female notions are of that extent

Impossible, one I thought should give 'em vent.

New schemes of dress, intrigue and play,

Want new expressions every day :

And doubly blest ! must be that mortal man,

Who may converse with Sylvia and her Fan.'

' The Original Fanology, or Ladies' Conversation fan,' was invented by
Charles Francis Badini, and published as the Act directs by Wm. Cock,
42 Pall Mall, Aug. 7, 1797.

' The telegraph of Cupid in this fan,

Though you should find, suspect no wrong ;
'Tis but a simple and diverting plan

For Ladies to chit-chat and hold the tongue.'

A fanology fan, of different design but with the same directions, in-
vented by Badini, was published five months earlier (March 18) by Robert
Clarke, Fanmaker, No. 26 Strand, London.

The new conversation or tete-a-tete fan gives as a centre medallion
Venus robbing Cupid of his Bow, with inscribed compartments on both
sides, having reference to the Answer and Question of the Lady to the
Gentleman.

The language of the fan has already been referred to in an earlier
chapter, portions of the code being given. See Spanish fans,
page 137.

Gypsy, fortune-telling and necromantic fans form a large class, and were
common during the latter part of the eighteenth century. As early, how-
ever, as Aug. 3, 1734, a necromantic fan was advertised in the Craftsman as
follows : —

254

ENGRAVED FANS

' By Eo, Meo, & Area
On Monday last was published
The Necromantick Fan ; or, Magick Glass.
Being a new-invented Machine Fan, that by a
slight Touch unseen a Lady in the Fan changes her
Dressing-Glass according to the following Invitations :

If any one himself would see,
Pray send the Gentleman to me :
For in my Magick Glass I show
The Pedant, Poet, Cit, or Beau ;
Likewise a Statesman wisely dull,
Whose plodding Head 's with Treaties full.
Etc.
Made and sold by Edward Vaughan,
Fanmaker, at the Golden Fan near the Chapel in
Russel Court, Drury Lane.'

A necromantic fan was issued by Gamble ; ' Dear Doctor consult the
Stars,' representing an old necromancer being consulted by ladies.

' Gypsy ' fans are invariably arranged according to a regular principle.
A medallion in the centre, of a Gypsy telling fortunes, the different cards,
together with their significance, arranged in four rows over the general field
of the fan, and at the top, or on the reverse, the explanation, or directions for
telling fortunes. The ' Gypsy Fan ' conforms to this rule so far as the
medallion is concerned : in lieu, however, of the cards with their explanation
we have a series of floral festoons borders, etc., painted by hand. The fan
'made by Clarke and Co., at their Warehouse, the King's Arms, near
Charing Cross, Strand, London. Inventors of the much esteemed sliding
Pocket Fan.' 1

The ' Oracle ' has in the centre a wheel of fortune with two winged

1 This latter is a device by which the second dimension of the stick (the gorge) is made to slide up into
the shoulder, the mount being double and loose, so as to allow of passing up and down the stick. By this
means, an ordinary sized fan of iof ins. is reduced to 6|. Mr. Crewdson has an example, with paper mount
painted with figures variously occupied, as a soldier drinking at a tent, a travelling ' Punch,' etc. The stick
ivory, carved, painted and gilt.

255

HISTORY OF THE FAN

children on clouds, one of whom holds a scroll inscribed ' Oracle.' On the
sides of the fan the names of the ten greater gods and goddesses, in ten
columns, the names disposed differently in each. On the lower part of the
fan the ' Explication ' of the Oracle, and ' examples,' together with the ques-
tions, as — ' Whether one is to get Riches ; Whether one will be successful
in Love ; What sort of a Husband shall I have ' ; etc. etc. On the reverse
are heads of the gods and goddesses with their attributes, with ten columns
of inscriptions, each containing ten answers to questions.

Pub. accord, to Act, Jany. i, 1800, by Ino. Cock, I. P. Crowder & Co.,
No. 21 Wood Street, Cheapside, London.

The 'Wheel of Fortune, by which may be known most things that
can be required,' presents us with a variation of the foregoing. The
wheel occupies the centre of the fan, with four female heads representing
— 1. Bath Gypsy. 2. Norwood Gypsy. 3. Corsican Gypsy. 4. York Gypsy.
On the one side of the fan, ' Phisiognomy,' with directions how to read it ;
on the other, ' Perilous Days,' with a prognostication of the date and
manner of death of Napoleon, viz., by suffocation or drowning, at the latter
end of 1810 or beginning of 1812. J. Fleetwood, Sc, 48 Fetter Lane.

An interesting class of fans is that illustrating popular and fashion-
able resorts, entertainments, etc., as Bartholomew Fair, Bath, Ranelagh,
Vauxhall Gardens, the Crescent at Buxton, etc.

Henry Morley, in his interesting Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair, has
given us an amusing description of the fan sold in that annual saturnalia,
where Henry Fielding once had an interest.

' Here are drolls, hornpipe-dancing, and showing of postures ;
Plum-porridge, black pudding, and opening of oysters :
The tap-house guests swearing, and gallery folks squalling,
With salt-boxes solus, and mouth-pieces bawling ;
Pimps, pick-pockets, strollers, fat landladies, sailors,
Bawds, baileys, jilts, jockies, thieves, tumblers, and taylors.

256

ENGRAVED FANS

Here 's Punch's whole game of the gun-powder plot, sir,
Wild beasts all alive, and pease porridge hot, sir ;
Fine sausages fried, and the black on the wire ;
The whole court of France, and nice pig at the fire ;
The ups-and-downs, who'll take a seat in the chair-o,
There are more ups and downs than at Bartleme Fair-o.'

G. A. Stevens. 18th Cent.

The humours of the piece are mainly technical. Our Bartholomew
artist, having his own views of perspective, has carefully economised the
number of his figures and left out at discretion bodies or legs in the
treatment of which he was embarrassed. Thus the leg of a drinking-
stall serves also for the wooden leg of a bibulous person standing by.
A man with, apparently, but one arm, salutes, in a manner at once distant
and peculiar, an apple-woman, who lifts up her basket by the apples that
are in it. Our artist, finding that the fourth stall of his machine ' Ups
and Downs ' would complicate his picture, has left it out altogether, and
with a view also to artistic effect, has denied legs to the gentleman who
is tasting his ale with so much relish, while the hot sausages (for these
curious figures of eight are intended for sausages) grow cold upon his
plate.

Pie Corner, with its delicate pig and pork, is depicted, with Sir
Robert Walpole, orders and all, issuing from the shop.

The fan is engraved in mezzotint, the various subjects forming a
very excellent mosaic of pattern : it was re-engraved and published by
J. F. Setchel in 1829, and was accompanied by a description of the
fair, in which the date of 1721 was assigned to the original. This
and other inaccuracies being first pointed out by Henry Morley,
who showed that the Droll of the siege of Bethulia, containing the
ancient history of Judith and Holofernes, with the comical humours
of Rustego and his man Terrible, said to be performing in Lee and

2K 257

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Harper's Booth, was not presented at that famous establishment until
1732.1

A version of the well-known print, after Canaletto, of the Rotunda,
garden, and buildings at Ranelagh is given on a fan in the Schreiber
collection, engraved by N. Parr, 1751.

A view of the Crescent at Buxton also appears enclosed in an oval
medallion, with the inscription, ' Crescent, Buxton.'

The following advertisements relative to these subjects appeared in
the Craftsman : —

'June 15, 1734.

' Just Published. By Jonathan Pinchbeck, Fan Maker, etc.

(accurately delineated on a Fan Mount)

' The Humours of New Tunbridge Wells ; being a Draught of the House,
Gardens, Well, Walks, etc., with the different Airs, Gestures, and Behaviour of
the Company, and all other rural Entertainments of the Place. Taken from the
Life : by an eminent Hand.'

'July 2, 1737.

' This day ts Published

' The new Vaux Hall Fan ; or the rural Harmony and delightful Pleasures of
Vaux-Hall Gardens; with the different Air, Altitude, and Decorum of the Company
that frequent that beautiful place ; done to its utmost Beauty and Perfection.

' Whereon is shewn the Walks, the Orchestra, the grand Pavillion, and the
Organ, which far excels any Thing of the kind yet offer'd to the Publick.
' Sold at Pinchbeck's Fan Warehouse, etc.

' Where may be had, The Dumb Oracle ; and the Royal Repository, or Merlin's
Cave; and all sorts of Fans of the newest Fashion, wholesale or retail.'

In the interesting fan, giving, within a large cartouche, a view of the
Parades, and Old Assembly Rooms at Bath, 1737, Beau Nash appears

1 ' The Fair was granted by Henry I. to one Rahere, a witty and pleasant gentleman of his Court, in
aid, and for the support of, an Hospital, Priory, and Church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, which he
built in repentance of his former profligacy and folly. The succeeding Priors claimed by certain
Charters to have a Fair every year, viz. on the Eve, Day, and the Morrow of St. Bartholomew.'

258

TA&Trial *f Warren Hajtiirys .

A1r. TV. B«^<ZaX - £° t^&r- ALP.

The Hurcudcs <,f£ia£A., 7/37*

Mn W.B<^c&2Z-£°"JZ*r-M~P-

ENGRAVED FANS

in the foreground in lilac coat, with a white hat under his arm,1 address-
ing a bevy of fashionable ladies ; at the sides are floral and diapered
ornaments in the Chinese taste.

The example illustrated, which is coloured with extreme care, was
acquired by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts at the Walker sale in 1882.
This is the mount referred to by Pinchbeck in his advertisement of

'June 3, 1738.

1 This day is Published on a Fan Mount (Fit for the Second Mourning or in
colours) An accurate and lively Prospect of the celebrated Grove at Bath, whereon
the rural Pleasures and exact Decorum of the company are curiously represented,
with some cursory Observations on the Behaviour of Sundry Persons, particularly
the famous B. N.

' Likewise the rural Harmony and delightful Pleasures of Vaux-Hall Gardens.
Also the Royal Repository, or Merlin's Cave ; being an exact Emblem of that
beautiful Structure erected by the late Queen in the Royal Gardens at Richmond.

'Sold wholesale or retail at Pinchbeck's Fan Warehouse, etc., by Mr. Crowbrow,
at the India House on the Walks : and at Mr. Dalassol's and Mr. Weakstead's
Shops in the Grove at Bath.'

Two fans were published in June 1757 by G. Speren, giving a view
of the interior of the Pump-Room at Bath, and the Orange Grove, with
obelisk, garden, and buildings.

Lady Charlotte Schreiber quotes the following advertisement which
appeared in the Craftsman during this year: —

'This day is publish 'd, by Jonathan Pinchbeck, Fan-maker, at the Fan and
Crown in New Road-Court in the Strand, and sold by him Wholesale and Retail.

'The Bath Medley; Being an accurate and curious Draught of the Pump
Room at Bath, and most of the known Company who frequent it, adorn'd with

1 The Beau always carried a white beaver hat, assumed after he had lost many of ordinary colours,
as he said, to prevent any person taking it by mistake, though the uncharitable declared the reason for
this singularity was to attract attention. Nash was fond of fine clothes, and celebrated the King's
Birthday in 1734 by appearing in gold-laced clothes, in which, says Chesterfield, 'he looked so fine that,
standing by chance in the middle of the dancers, he was taken by many at a distance for a gilt garland.
(Lewis Melville, Bath under Beau Nash.)

259

HISTORY OF THE FAN

the Portraitures of her Royal Highness the Princess Amelia1 and other illustrious
personages who honour'd the Place with their Presence the last Season ; wherein
the Topicks of Discourse and Conversations of Companies are impartially consider'd ;
their different Behaviours, Airs, Attitudes, etc., judiciously represented ; the Foppery
of the Beaus hinted at, and the Intrigues of the famous B — N — and others fully
exploded. Taken from the Life, and finely delineated in above fifty Hieroglyphical
figures.

'N.B. — A spurious pyratical Copy of this Fan is lately publish'd, which is not
like the Place it should represent, and may easily be discover'd from the Original
by its having Pillars to support the Musick Gallery, and in the Middle is wrote
The Bath Medley.'

The first Pump- Room was opened in 1706, with all the £clat of a
public procession, and a musical f£te, at which was sung a song specially-
composed in honour of King Bladud, the father of Lear, and mythical
founder of Bath, recounting the story of his glorious deeds, and his
soaring ambition, which, Icarus-like, finally overreached itself.2

1 Daughter of George 11., who paid her first visit to Bath in 1728.

' Ye nymphs of Bath, come, aid my lay ;

Come strike the trembling string;
Amelia's name so sweetly flows,
Her face and wondrous goodness shows,

Who can refuse to sing.

' Her presence, like the sun benign,
Sheds blessing, where she deigns to shine :

And brightens all the place;
But, when the Goddess disappears,
Our drooping heads and eyes in tears
Will witness our distress.'

Quoted by Lewis Melville, Bath under Beau Nash.
2 ' Poor Bladud, he was manger grown ; his dad, which zum call vather,
Zet Bladud pig, and pig Bladud, and zo they ved together.
Then Bladud did the Pigs invect, who, grumbling, ran away,
And vound whot Waters presently, which made him fresh and gay.
Bladud was not so grote a Vool, but seeing what Pig did doe,
He Beath'd and Wash't, and Rins'd, and Beath'd, from Noddle down to Toe.

And then he built this gawdy Toun, and sheer'd his Beard spade-ways,
Which voke accounted then a Grace, though not so nowadays.
Thwo thowsand and vive hundred Years, and Thirty-vive to That,
Zince Bladud's Zwine did looze their Greaze, which we Moderns call Vat.'

Coryate, Crudities.

260

ENGRAVED FANS

The sequel to the story is to be found in the following quotation
in Meehan, Famous Houses of Bath : —

' Vex'd at the brutes alone possessing
What ought to be a common blessing :
He drove them thence in mighty wrath,
And built the stately town of Bath.

The Hogs, thus banished by the Prince,

Have liv'd in Bristol ever since ! '

The Pump-Room illustrated on the fan was erected in 1732, and was,
together with the Assembly-rooms, really the creation of Beau Nash, who
persuaded one Thomas Harrison to build a room for dancing on the east
side of the Grove, with access to the bowling-green, which then became
known as Harrison's Walks. To maintain his supremacy, Nash rented
the Pump-Room from the corporation, and put it under the charge of an
officer called the Pumper, and for a while induced Harrison to accept
three guineas a week for the Assembly-rooms and candles.1

The Grove was re-named the Orange Grove by this same worthy,
who erected the obelisk in the centre in commemoration of the visit of
the Prince of Orange who came to Bath for the benefit of his health.

IN MEMORIAM
SANITATIS

PRINCIPI AURIACO

AQUARUM THERMALIUM POTU

FAVENTE DEO

OVANTE BRITANNIA

FELICITER RESTITUTAE
M.DCC. XXXIV.2

The exterior of the Rotunda, house, gardens, etc., at Ranelagh, is
given on a fan mount in the Schreiber collection, this being a copy of a

1 Goldsmith, Life of Nash.

2 In memory of the happy restoration to Health of the Prince of Orange, by drinking the Bath
Waters, through the favour of God, and to the joy of Britain, 1734.

26l

HISTORY OF THE FAN

print entitled 'Vue de l'Exterieur de la Rotonde. Maison & Jardins,
etc., a Ranelagh. ' Canaleti, delin.' ' N. Parr, sculpt.' Published accord-
ing to Act of Parliament. December 2, 1751.'

Opera fans give plans of the boxes at the Opera, with names of the
occupants. An example in the Schreiber collection is inscribed : ' New
Opera Fan for 1797. W. Cock. Publish'd as the Act Directs for the
Proprietor, by Permission of the Manager of the Opera House, 42 Pall Mall.'

The following advertisement appeared in the Times of January 1,

1788 :—

' The Opera Fans.
'To the subscribers and frequenters of the King's Theatre.

' Last Saturday were published according to Act of Parliament. The Delivery,
however, was put off until the re-opening of the Opera House next week, for the
purpose of presenting them in the best state of improvement.

' These fans are calculated to present at one view both the number of boxes
including the additional ones, names of subscribers, etc., and have been carefully
compared with the plan of the House or kept at the office, and will be sold only by
the proprietor, Mrs. H. M., No. 81 Haymarket, where she will receive with respectful
gratitude any commands from the ladies and wait on them if required.'

A fan published on the same date, January 1, 1788, by Clarke and Co.,
appears in the Schreiber collection, and gives the plan of the King's Theatre
for 1788; the centre box bears the names of the Duke and Duchess of
Cumberland and that of the Duke of York ; the Prince of Wales and Mrs.
Fitzherbert being in box sixty-three on the right.1

Fans illustrative of the ' tender passion ' naturally form a large class, and
may be divided into the following groups : —

1. Satirical and Amusing.

2. Pastoral, Social, and Fancy.

3. Subjects from Classic Mythology, as ' The Marriage of Cupid and

Psyche,' ' The Theft of Cupid's Bow,' ' The Offering of Love,' etc.

1 The painted fan alludiog to the relations between the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert is referred
to on page 195.

262

ENGRAVED FANS

Maps of the affections were common both in this country and on the
Continent, and are invariably designed on the principle of the Italian fan,
' II Paese del Matrimonio,' referred to page 269.

The following advertisement appeared in the Craftsman for January
13, 1732-3:—

' Daniel Chandler, Fan maker in the Strand over against Southampton St., who
invented and sold the Lilliputian Fans,1 and Variety of other pleasant Fans, is now
provided with a Parcel of fashionable Fans, neatly mounted, representing the map of
Tender, which may afford Entertainment both for Ladies and Gentlemen who are
Tenderly inclined, and disposed to be agreeably merry.

' These fans and Mounts are likewise sold by Michael Burnet, Fan maker, at
the Hand and Fan, over against Friday St. in Cheapside.'

On the same date, Saturday, January 13, 1732-3, Pinchbeck announces
the ' Courting Fan Mounts.'

' An Embleme of the Four different Stages of life finely delineated in seven
hieroglyphical Figures. Being a lively representation of the Address of young Lovers,
the Raptures of a new-married couple ; the reciprocal Harmony of Antient wedded
companions; and the abject, wretched state of an Old Maid. Illustrated with a
Paraphrase, on each cut, which serves as a Key to the whole.

' N.B. — At the abovesaid Place may be had all sorts of Fans and Fan-mounts of
the newest Fashion, and at the lowest prices, wholesale or retail.'

On April 20, 1734, Pinchbeck advertises :

'The Old Man's Folly. — In this Fan is represented an old Miser, who at the age
of Fourscore had the Vanity to court a young lady of Twenty ; she despises his
Addresses, and Cupid shoots Thunder at his Head : in this Dilemma, Bacchus invites
him to a Banquet at the Nectarius Grove ; whilst the Eye of Heaven shines propitious
on the Raptures of a youthful couple.

' Where may be had

' The abject, wretched state of an Old Maid, and divers other curious Fans ; the
Designs taken from the best Masters.'

1 In 1726, when Swift took the town by storm with 'Gulliver,' every lady 'carried Lilliput about with
her,' and Lilliputian fans became the vogue.

263

HISTORY OF THE FAN

These two fans had been announced earlier by Pinchbeck on Jan. 15th
of the same year, as follows : —

' Just Published . . . The Amours of an Old Batchellor, or the Downfall of Sir
Limberham ; likewise the four different Stages of Life ; or the abject, wretched State
of an Old Maid. To each of these Fans are prefix'd, Verses suitable to the Occasion,
which explain the Design.'

M. Gamble, on August 11, 1739, advertises

'A new Fan, wherein is delineated a Damsel bewailing the Loss of her Lover, who
is represented as cast away in a Storm.

' Where may also be had, a Fan lately publish'd entitled The Sailor's Wedding,
being made to the glorious and immortal Majesty of Queen Elizabeth.'

' Before and after Marriage ' gives expression to an idea which also
supplied a favourite motif for English and especially Staffordshire pottery.
On a cream ware jug, with illustrations of courtship and matrimony, we
have the following couplets expressive of the two contrasting conditions : —

' In courtship Strephon careful hands his lass
Over a stile a child with ease might pass.'

' But wedded, Strephon now neglects his dame,
Tumble or not, to him 'tis all the same.'

The fan leaf, published in Paris, but also issued in England, illustrates
two scenes, in the former of which Cupid smiles approvingly : in the latter,
Cupid in the background is overwhelmed with grief at this instance of
Strephon's indifference ; above are inscriptions in French and Spanish :
' La Complaisance de l'Amant ou Huit jours avant,' and ' L'indiffdrence du
Mari ou Huit jours apres.' The fan etched from drawings by William
Williams, a name which suggests an English origin of the idea.

A similar contrast is drawn in two fans published by J. Read, Feb. 20,
and Nov. 1, 1795, 133 Pall Mall : ' The Good Swain ' gives three oval medal-
lions of ' The Morning of Youth,' Mid-Day of Life,' and ' Chearful Evening

264

Alhip toCtretnxu.

•Schroder CoU-~ UrtZls/vAXtus&Mm..

Ila-rtclozz V J^tv.

JWFranJt- WGHsotu. (£uyeJue-Jo-axJuym~J

ENGRAVED FANS

of Old Age,' each subject being provided with four lines of verse com-
mencing with, ' Unless with my Amanda blest.'

The ' Good-for-nothing Swain ' gives ' The Vow of Constancy,' ' The
Hour of Infidelity,' and 'Cupid's Farewell,' the verses commencing, ' With
soothing Smiles he won my easy heart.'

Both fans bear the name of 'G. Wilson,' who appears on a number
of fans of this period both as designer, engraver, and publisher, and
evidently supplied designs, or stock, to other publishers.

Among the more successful humorous fans are those giving,
in a series of medallions along the border of the fan, 'A selection
of Beau's, Whimsical, Comical, and Eccentrical ; or Candidates for the
Ladies' Favour ' ; and ' The Ladies' Bill of Fare, or a Copious Collection
of Beaux.' The various kinds of lovers are each provided with a suitable
inscription above and below, as : 'A Spark of some Conceit, Let
me die if I don't believe she thinks of me Night and Day,' ' A Man
of high price, I am determined not to Marry any Woman under a
Dutchess,' etc. ' The Merry Lover,' and ' I Live, Love, and Laugh,' etc.
In the centre of the fans, underneath a flying Cupid, are verses in
further elucidation of the subject :

' That simple thing — A woman's Heart,
How oft 'tis play'd upon ;
What Beau's oft cause its painful smart,
And triumph when they've done.'

' Mark well our Motley Group above,
The little shun — the Honest love.'

and on ' The Ladies' Bill of Fare ' :

' To plague and please all womankind,
Here 's Gallants sure a plenty ! —
Chuse then a Beau to suit your mind,
Or change 'till one content ye.'
2L 265

HISTORY OF THE FAN

These fans are engraved in mixed line and stipple, the name 'G.
Wilson, del'.,' appearing on the first mentioned, with ' London, published
May 25, 1795, by I. Read, No. 133 Pall Mall.' On the latter, 'Pub-
lished as the Act directs by G. Wilson, 14 Feb. 1795, 108 St. Martin's
Lane.'

Other fans having reference to the affections, and issued by the same
publisher, are : ' The Progress of Love ' in the five stages of ' Cupid
Relieved ' ; ' Amantha Rewarded ' ; ' Pastime of Love ' ; ' Altar of Hymen ' ;
' Connubial Bliss ' ; ' The Lady's Adviser, Physician, and Moralist, or,
Half-an-Hour's Entertainment at the Expense of Nobody ! ' and ' The Quiz
Club ' — the latter giving twelve circular medallions of ridiculous characters
round the border of the fan, with suitable descriptions underneath :

'This young Spark is perfectly a man of Taste — dresses like a gentleman —
swears like a Nabob, and believes the Ladies think him a clever fellow.'

'This Man (wonderful man he should be called) is a learned Ass. Speaks
gramatically nice, looks very solemn, and expects ye Ladies to understand his
consequence, happy are they who win his smiles.'

' A fit Man for a closet — give this gentleman retirement, he requires to bear
Compy with none but invissibles — Gods, Goddesses, Genii, Fauns, Sylphs, Naiads,
Dryads, & ye like.'

'An unfit Man to be alone — one that his associates have nicknamed Bob
Drowsy, he can find no amusement but in his tongue, & if he is left half an hour
alone he falls asleep.'

In an oval medallion in the centre is the following: —

'The Quiz Club.

' Dedicated to all Beaus in Christendom.

' By S. A., Professor of Physiognomy and Correction of the Heart.

' Dear Madam, ask your loving Quiz
If here he 'Spies his own Dear Phiz ;
266

ENGRAVED FANS

And if mark'd out some fault he find,
Like one or two which warp his mind,
Bid the defaulter hence amend
And be the Sexes honour'd friend.

'Publish'd by Ashton & Co., No. 28 Little Britain, May 1st, 1797, & Enter'd
at Stationers' Hall.'

Trips to Gretna were among the earliest results of the abolition of
Fleet marriages by Lord Hardwicke's New Marriage Act of 1753, one
of the most famous of these clandestine marriages being that of Richard
Lovell Edgeworth ten years later. The fan illustrates, in six scenes, the
progress of a love match from the first meeting, to a marriage at Gretna,
and final forgiveness by the bride's father — 'The First Impression,' 'Mutual
Declaration,' ' The Refusal,' ' The Flight,' ' The Journey's End,' ' The
Reconciliation.'

This subject also formed a favourite motif for the Staffordshire potter
of the period, who produced a number of groups characterised by that
quaint humour which appears to be native to him. It will be observed
that in the fan, as in the pottery figure groups, the popular idea of the
' blacksmith ' is perpetuated. This popular notion, however, is thus
disposed of by Jeaffreson, the historian of matrimony {Brides and Bridals) :
'There is no evidence that any one of the Gretna Green marriages was
solemnised in a smithy, or that any one of the famous Gretna Green
' couplers ' ever followed the smith's calling. One of these so-called parsons
had been a common soldier, another a tobacconist, a third a pedlar, and
all of them drunkards and cheats, but no one of them ever shod a horse
or wrought an iron bolt.'

The state of widowhood also supplies the motif of a number of fans,

the subject usually taking the form of a woman in classical costume,

mourning over an altar, urn, or tomb ; the central figure-subject generally

engraved in stipple, the landscape completed by hand. Several examples

267

HISTORY OF THE FAN

are in the Schreiber collection, the most successful being that signed
' F. Burney, del. ; H. Meyer, sculpt.'

In the third group, subjects from classic mythology, the prevailing
method or decorative scheme is that of an engraved medallion, large or
small, occupying the centre of the fan, to be enclosed in, or incorporated
with, an ornamental setting painted by hand ; the character and treatment
of the subject representing that pretty, sentimental quasi-classicism which
set in about the middle of the century, and which we associate with the
names of Cipriani, Angelica Kauffmann, and the engraver Bartolozzi. A
characteristic example is the design by G. B. Cipriani, R.A., of Orpheus
and Eurydice emerging from Hades, their way being lighted by the torch
of Cupid. The medallion is engraved in stipple, the field of the fan being
completed by ornaments in black, grey, pale blue, and silver.

A variation of this decorative scheme has three medallions with
arabesque ornamentation also engraved, the fan usually being sold un-
coloured but occasionally tinted ; an example being ' The Power of Love ' —
a Cupid riding on the back of a lion, engraved by Bartolozzi from the
antique gem by Protarchos at Florence, with two smaller medallions of
Cupids. 'Publish'd as the Act directs, March i, 1780, by A. Poggi.' '

An interesting fan in the Wyatt collection is printed on chicken
skin, with an almanac in Spanish, decorated with the signs of the Zodiac
in circles, and borders of fruit, flowers, etc., coloured and gilt. The stick
and guards of pierced and carved ivory, painted.

A class of fan popular both in France and England, during the
middle and latter half of the eighteenth century, has a medallion subject
or series of subjects superimposed upon a streamer of lace ; this last

1 'Mr. A. VV. Tuer, in a list of Bartolozzi's works (page 116), catalogues eighteen fan-mounts, including
the one published by A. Poggi in 1780, but not the one published by Poggi in 1782. Only four, so far as
he knows, were completed as fans, including the 1780 Poggi. The coppers on which the engravings were
made were of large size, so as to admit of the after addition of the form of the fan, and its ornamentation.
Some of the plates were afterwards cut down, lettered, and issued as separate prints.' (Letter of Mr. Lionel
Cust to Lady Charlotte Schreiber, Schreiber MSS., British Museum.)

268

ENGRAVED FANS

being carefully engraved and coloured, the subjects painted, often with
great elaboration. An excellent French example occurs in the Wyatt
collection, with a cartouche enclosing a battle-piece, flowers, and insects
introduced amongst the lace; the stick mother-of-pearl, gilt and silvered,
with 'gold-fish' inlay; the whole colour effect extremely fine.

Printed fans were by no means confined to France and England,
although it is in these countries that the practice obtained most exten-
sively; fans were issued in Germany giving portraits of the Emperor
Leopold ii. and his wife, Maria Louisa of Spain, and their family; of
Frederick n., who is represented as in Elysium, having just embarked
from Charon's boat ; of Frederick William in. and Queen Louise of Prussia,
and of Madame Royale, in allusion to her release in 1795 and her sub-
sequent arrival in Vienna. The famous engraver Chodowiecki also
produced several fans, prints of which occur in the Berlin Museum.

Two Italian examples may be referred to. The subject known as
grotesque animals was obviously executed as a central subject, the field of
the fan to be completed by hand. It is an extraordinarily skilful
engraving of a number of animals playing different antics. In the centre
is a monkey in cocked-hat and feather, extracting with a pair of forceps
a tooth from a fowl who is laying an egg the meanwhile. Sympathetic
birds are perched around, and a squirrel is in attendance with a glass of
refreshment on a tray. The design is made up of similar grotesque
incidents — as a dog with a pair of tongs over his shoulder, returning
from a rat-catching expedition ; a porcupine reading a book with the aid
of a magnifying glass ; a fox with two young foxes riding on the back
of a fish which is duly provided with a huge pair of spectacles, etc. etc.
The humours of the piece are too many to be described in detail. No
publisher's or artist's name appear. The extreme length is nine inches.

In the subject ' II Paese del Matrimonio,' the centre of the fan is
occupied by a Cupid standing in a boat, saying: ' Andiamo, chi viene al

269

HISTORY OF THE FAN

paese del matrimonio,' and ' Venite, signorine, Ciascana delle vostre madri
fatto prima di voi questo viaggio. La mia barca e della piu leggiere,
se non vi condurre a buon porto non mi pagherete.' On either side are
maps of two imaginary countries — Terra del celibato and Paesi del
matrimonio, with pictorial representations of the various places. The
former apparently is the country of tranquillity ; on it are figured the
Tempio della pace, the Fontana della quiete, the Citta dell' independenza,
the Paradiso terrestre.

The country of matrimony is approached by the Golfo del Rimprovero
which lies between the Capo della dissimulazione and the Rupe della
gelosia. In this country are discovered the Citta d'isagiosa ; the Tempio
della discordia, shown as falling to pieces with a volcano hard by ; the
montagna dell' infedelta, from which springs a stream emptying itself into
the Lago dell' indifferenza. On the farther side of this country of unrest
lies the Golfo della Iuna di miele.

Of the processes of engraved fans, the most usual is that of
etching, often finished (sweetened is the technical term) by means of the
graver or burin. Pure line-engraving is frequently employed, although
most line-engravers make use of the etched line as a foundation for sub-
sequent work with the burin. Etching is occasionally supplemented by
stipple-engraving and the free use of the roulette. Many fans are painted
in a brownish black ink with the flesh-tints in red; in others several
colours are introduced, thus anticipating the modern process of coloured
etching. This latter is practically a system of painting upon the plate in
colours, and can scarcely be considered as a legitimate process, although
the result in modern coloured etching is often interesting, and in some
instances even admirable. Aquatint was also employed, especially during
the earlier years of the nineteenth century, on a number of fan leaves
illustrating the Peninsular War. Many of these were produced in

London by Behrmann and Collman, for the Spanish market, with

270

ENGRAVED FANS

inscriptions in Spanish. Portraits of the Duke of Wellington were also
popular.

After the introduction of lithography many fans were produced by
means of this process, invented by Aloys Senefelder of Munich about 1798;
all lithographed fans must therefore be of a subsequent date to this.

This process was employed as a groundwork for subsequent painting,
often carried to a high pitch of finish, so much so, that it is difficult for
any but a practical eye to detect the lithographic foundation. Examples
of these fans, which include a great variety of subjects, appear in most
collections.

Lithography has been employed during the whole of the nineteenth
century for the decoration of fans, and is largely in use at the present
time.

DOUBLE HIDE FAN
(Taken from the King's Palace at Penin, 1897. Horniman Museum, Forest Hill.)

271

CHAPTER XI

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

WE now gather together the various threads of
our subject at the point where they were left,
viz. the close of the Empire. We have
found that during two centuries and a half —
from 1600 to 1800, with a little overlapping at
either end — the fan passed through the various
stages of development and decline ; that during
the latter years of the sixteenth century both
Italy and France, but especially the former,
produced objects which may be legitimately
described as fine art ; that in France, if we
make allowance for, and accept a different
standard of taste and fashion, the most ex-
quisitely dainty things were produced, the
period of Louis xv. being that of the highest development of the art,
with a steady decline from thence onwards.

During the first three decades of the nineteenth century the fan
languished. The storm and upheaval of the Revolution, the general
unrest caused by the Napoleonic wars, were among the chief contributing
causes, together with the fact that the great families had fled from
France, taking their fans with them. For the first fifteen years of the
century, there is little to record except a difference of proportion. ' Towards

1800,' to quote M. Rondot, ' the brins were only 6 or 7 centimetres to the

272

■4

«2

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

gorge; towards 1813 this was increased to 8 centimetres, and to 19
centimetres in 1841.'

'When the brisds returned into favour in 1804,' continues this author,
' the fan-makers employed leather, silver, copper, asses' skin, and cardboard.
The blades were short, and were made by the cutters who ornamented
them ; this was also the case with the fans of horn which were fashionable
towards 1829-30.'

Three examples are given of the earlier years of the century : the first,
from the collection of Miss Moss, formerly belonged to Miss Charlotte
Yonge the authoress, and is worked upon a foundation of net, with cut and
pierced steel decorations. The painted subject in the centre represents a lady
seated in a garden, and a boy with hoop and dog; the stick of pierced ivory
pique" with silver. An Italian example almost identical with this, with
the exception of the painted subject, appears in the Museo Civico, Venice.

The fan of asses' skin, from the same collection, is cut to a perforated
pattern, painted in the centre with a subject of birds and flowers, the outside
blades of ivory, the whole pique" with silver. These peau cFdne fans were
used by dldgantes at balls, as tablets upon which the names of partners for
the dance were inscribed by means of a leaden or silver pencil. The colour
is a light slaty-grey; their size averaged from 9 to 10 inches.

The fan which, by the courtesy of Mr. Leopold de Rothschild, we are
enabled to illustrate, is elaborately cut to fine perforations, and painted
with a large medallion in the centre representing a music lesson, a
number of smaller miniatures on the blades, with gilding.

In 1827 the fan was the provocative cause of the conquest of Algeria
by the French. A blow on the head of the French consul from the plumed
fan of Hussein Dey resulted in an apology being demanded and refused,
with the consequent declaration of war.

'In the course of the year 1828,' says M. Uzanne, 'at the time of
representations of a comic opera entitled Corisandre, as the heat was

2 M 273

HISTORY OF THE FAN

suffocating, the youthful dandies fainting languidly in their boxes, it
occurred to a Paris manufacturer to sell green paper fans to the men, and
the whole theatre was therefore furnished with them. Fashion adopted
this innovation of masculine fans, which received the name of Corisandres,
but this originality endured but a short time in Paris, as also in Venice
and the principal cities in Italy, where men became familiar with the play
of the fan ; — the beaux abdicated the sceptre of the woman, and resumed
as before their Malacca canes.'

An amusing story is told of a near-sighted French writer, who, on
a sultry summer evening at the Opera, was much incommoded by the
flip-flapping of the fans of two persons who sat immediately behind him.
Turning to the two delinquents, ' My dear ladies,' said he, in the politest
of tones, ' if you will kindly moderate the use of your fans you will render
me the happiest of men.' Instead, however, of the dulcet tones of a
lady's voice, a deep bass smote his ear, and he found himself confronted
with the black-bearded, furious, and reddened visages of two lieutenants
of the Guards. The amende quickly followed.

It was the circumstance of a grand ball given at the Tuileries in 1829
that occasioned the renaissance of the fan. Madame la Duchesse de
Berri was organising a Louis xv. costume quadrille — fans of the period
were required to complete the tout ensemble, and none were available. At
length one of the guests recollected an old parfumeur in the Rue Caumartin,
named Vanier, who had collected ancient fans : these were conveyed to the
palace, where, in the quadrille, they created extraordinary interest — were
eagerly purchased, and from this time onward in the most exclusive circles,
in spite of the fickleness of that jade, Fashion, the fan has retained its
hold upon the affections of the fair.

The earliest result of this revival of taste for old fans was, perhaps

naturally, a general imitation of old models, and lifeless reproductions of

the fans of the Louis Quinze period were made.

274

Fan of AsSeS Shin , DttrfiraXeA CLt>aintecL, silrer- baUlMsj.

MlssM.o

Ai^ss CA.a.7-lt>tte^ j<?77Lyes ftm-.

ttt*rj Aicss.

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

It will readily be perceived that this way did not lead to artistic
salvation — that it served no good purpose to open up the graves of a
dead century and to disturb its poor ghosts. It is true that things were
changing for the worse, but there is a healthiness in the very act and spirit
of change, even though that change should represent a temporary decline.

This is the epoch of which it will be said that men actually, by
some mysterious means, were deprived of what may for present purposes
be called their sixth sense, when, though their eyelids were unclosed, they
saw not, or only in a perverted manner ; it is, nevertheless, one of the
curiosities of this most singular epoch that while the general level of
artistic attainment was so low, its pictured shadows so dark, the prevailing
gloom should be illuminated here and there by lights more bright and
intense than in the two preceding epochs. In other words, while we fail
to trace with any measure of certainty any single instance, during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, of an artist of the first calibre
touching the fan, during the first half of the century that succeeded,
the fan may boast of such names as Horace Vernet, Ingres, Isabey, and
others only a little less distinguished. These represent the welcome oasis
in the dreary desert of mediocrity — the limpid springs at which from
time to time we may pause for a few moments to refresh ourselves. Of
the work of these famous painters, an 'Arab dance' by Horace Vernet
is recorded ; as also ' Diana and Endymion,' the subject treated in the
Etruscan style by Ingres, who constantly in his pictures introduced fans,
as witness the portrait of Madame Devaucay, referred to in an earlier
chapter, 'The Odalisque,' and 'The Harem.' We have also, later, an
' Allegory of the Arts ' by Robert Fleury, a ' F£te ' by Gerome, and fans
by Diaz, Vibert, Lami, Glaize, and Jacquemart.

'The revolution of 1848,' says M. Rondot, in his report on the 1851
Exhibition, ' would have crushed the French fan industry if it had not been
for the orders for exportation. The production, which in Paris amounted

275

HISTORY OF THE FAN

to the value of three million francs in 1847, was reduced by half in the
disastrous year that followed; of 565 workers of both sexes 315 were
thrown out of employment. At the time of writing' (1854), continues this
author, ' the industry was in a very flourishing condition.' This prosperity
has been maintained to the present day, ' Paris being still the only city
where a fan may command the price of a hundred pounds.' '

The number of artists and workers employed in Paris and the Oise,
says M. Duvelleroy in his report on the Paris Exhibition of 1867, is
4000; the annual value of the production being ten million francs, of
which three-fourths is for the foreign market. ' Paris et la Chine ont
seuls le monopole du commerce des eVentails, mais c'est aujourd'hui, en
Europe, une industrie toute francaise, pour laquelle le monde entier est
notre tributaire.' 2 The evidence of this exhibition, further affirms this
author, showed that France incontestably held the first rank.

' Spain, who for thirty years had tried to organise her industry, has
only arrived at the production of the commoner classes of fans. Italy,
who uses fans greatly, does not make them ; Portugal being only the
third in the European market.' The British record is correspondingly
poor. 'In the Great Exhibition of 1 851,' says Lady Bristol, 'there was
not one single fan of British manufacture exhibited,' 3 and so far as painted
fans are concerned, the statement made by Redgrave in his notes to the
Catalogue of the Fan Exhibition at South Kensington in 1870, 'that there
were no English fanmakers living except those who made cheap and
coarse fans, is substantially correct to-day.' i

The evidence of the fans themselves bears out these statements. The
instance may be cited of an engraved fan in the Schreiber collection
(No. 69, Mounted Fans) recording Mr. Albert Smith's ascent of Mont

1 Redgrave, South Kensington Catalogue, 1870.

2 Duvelleroy, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1867, Rapports du Jury International, vol. iv.

3 Queen, Christmas Number, 1890.

4 E. Barrington Nash, Catalogue of the Third Competitive Exhibition of Fans at Drapers' Hall, 1890.

276

Enhp^re^FcLru, Iv

tru,^, W~xSi~.

M'-LeopctJ JeRotkscAild. CV.O.

T-brtuOUeje Fctn, pczmte-d rtmr, la*cjumxl sticA, c

MOO

yt/l/jjfC Etft^rtrwtan.^TniZh'.

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

Blanc in 1851, bearing the imprint of the French firm, ' Leroux et Cie.,
Fan's Manufactr., 41 rue Notre Dame de Nazereth, Paris.' This obviously
produced exclusively for the British market.

From Germany comes similar evidence of French pre-eminence ; the
wedding fan of the Grand Duchess of Baden, exhibited at Karlsruhe in
1 89 1, is signed by a French artist, 'A. Soldd, 1855,' who produced a
number of fans, and is made by a well-known French maker, Frdd^ric
Meyer of Paris. This is painted with the subject of a sacrifice at the
Altar of Hymen, and portrait busts of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess,
the initials F. and L., together with 'Coblentz, 30 Sept. 1855,' and is a
typical fan of the mid-nineteenth century.

Of the work of Solde\ a most excellent example, Le Bal d' Amours, is
given, graciously lent by H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.
The leaf is signed on both obverse and reverse, 'A. SoldeV and inscribed,
' Grand Bal donnd sous le patronage de Madame.' The mother-of-pearl
stick finely pierced and carved. This formed part of the famous collection
of Queen Victoria.

In 1859 an event occurred of the most fateful interest for the fan,

M. Alphonse Baude of Sainte-Genevieve (Oise) having invented his

system of cutting and carving the sticks a jour by machinery ! Let us

understand clearly what this means to us. Nature, ever bounteous,

provides us gratis, without any patent dues, with an instrument — the

human hand — the most exquisitely delicate and complicated machine

known to us ; this instrument is directed by a force — the human mind —

still more subtle, if possible, in the delicacy of its operations. In place of

this, M. Alphonse Baude, in his wisdom, offers us his conglomeration

of wheels, axles, metal bolts, and screws ! The intelligent fan-lover

will therefore note this date, and carefully examine any fan sticks made

subsequent to it.

Fans, however, have been made from time to time having reasonable

277

HISTORY OF THE FAN

claims to the possession of artistic qualities. M. Rondot mentions a fan
carved in mother-of-pearl and signed by Camille Roqueplan for Duvelleroy,
that sold for iooo francs. A Danish sculptor, M. S. G. Schwartz of
Copenhagen, exhibited at Paris in 1867 an ivory fan carved with reliefs of
the Seasons after Thorwaldsen ; a most beautiful work.

Another brise' fan, finely pierced and carved, presented by the ladies
of Copenhagen to H.R.H. the Princess of Wales (Queen Alexandra) on
the occasion of her marriage in 1863, gives five circular medallions, the
centre having the initials A. A. surmounted by the crown, the other four
of classical subjects. Underneath, a processional group of Apollo in his
chariot, the Graces and the Muses ; above, a border of Cupids holding
wreaths of flowers ; the guards richly embossed in gold, with foliage,
flowers, etc., in high relief. The above instances, as well as others that
might be named, are exceptional ; there can be no possibility of doubt
that while the leaves of fans, upon occasion, due to the fact of artists of
high calibre having essayed the fan, present some advance, the work of
the stick, during the whole of the nineteenth century, exhibits a serious
falling off from that of the preceding epochs. This unsatisfactory state
of things can only be remedied by a general advance in public taste, by
the creation of a demand for the higher class fans, and by individual
artists of approved skill turning their attention to this class of work.

During the latter half of the nineteenth century, three prominent dven-

taillistes of Paris, MM. Duvelleroy, Alexandre, and Aloys van de Voorde,

have made most strenuous efforts to revive interest in the higher class of

fans, and have exhibited work by such distinguished painters as

Gavarni, Colin, Hamon, Philippe, Rousseau, Karl Miiller, Diaz, Eugene

Lami, Glaize, Compte-Calix, Couture, Corot, Wattier, Sold£, Gamier, Mmc

de Girardin : and such well-known sculptors as Jean Feuchere, Klagmann,

Jacquemart, Riester, the brothers Fanniere, Eugene Berger, Bastard, Lanoy,

Vaillant, and others.

278

JLcLC&AAoaril zrr*s&n.tcd 6y tk Earl ofdrc^e. U> J^.J^J/.T^rtncess Aiarv

j^7l£ri£brn^L&QUt,Ba.*snT*4l 6\J. L, //a-r^on- . jtt~c£, by &.JZxm.&c„r£. Xke Cot^nt^ss C* rcLTii^il/e .

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

Of the work of Gavarni we have unfortunately no example illustrated ;
a fan by him appeared at South Kensington in 1870, exhibited by the
Comtesse de Nadaillac. Of other fans enlivened by his light and
humorous touch, two, says Blondel, have become famous : the first was
commissioned by Duvelleroy for Queen Victoria : the second, estimated of
perhaps greater value, formed part of the Empress Eugenie's rich collection.
Mirecourt, in his biography of Gavarni, tells the following anecdote. Upon
an occasion of the contents of his fine portfolios being praised, he cried,
' A 'lions done I in drawing I have never done but one thing passable ; it is a
fan for the Empress.'

Gavarni visited this country in 1847, but does not appear to have
recommended himself personally to his hosts. He may be counted
fortunate in the fact of his having, in spite of a certain spirit of contra-
diction in his character, impressed the value of his work upon his fellows
during his lifetime. Great men, like angels, but too often come upon us
unawares, and it is only upon their leave-taking, or after, that we become
sensible of the loss of a gracious presence.

The delicate and refined art of Jean Louis Hamon was especially
suited to the fan. For a considerable period he was associated with the
Royal Porcelain works at Sevres, producing a number of designs of that
light fanciful character with which we are familiar in his paintings. He
continued this style of composition, says M. Walther Fol, but applied it
to the decoration of fans, in which he excelled. ' In every sovereign court
they were a coveted possession, and if he had desired to supply all demands
he could have produced nothing besides.' The subjects of these delicate
fancies in almost every instance have reference to love or marriage. There
were Loves who shot arrows transfixing two hearts at once ; there was Love
with outspread wings, seated upon the raised end of a see-saw, while
Hymen, crowned with flowers, held him on high by his weight.

A dress fan made by Alexandre, and painted by Hamon with the

279

HISTORY OF THE FAN

subject of ' An Entomologist,' and groups of flowers on either side by a well-
known flower painter, was presented to the Countess Granville by the
foreign commissioners of the Universal Exhibition, Paris, October 26, 1867.
The stick is of ivory, carved by C. Rambert with dancing Cupids and foliage,
enriched with ormolu and jewelled turquoise. The gift was accompanied
by a graceful letter from Mr. (afterwards Sir Henry) Cole, the British
Commissioner, referring to the fan as a work of fine art by 'two distin-
guished French painters and one sculptor.' It is, however, more valuable
as a souvenir of an interesting occasion, and for the beautiful carving of
the stick, than as a representative example of Hamon's work.

In 1862, J. L. Hamon journeyed to Rome, where he painted ' L'Aurore,'
exhibited in Paris in the following year, and purchased by the Empress
Eugenie. He died in 1874 at the early age of fifty-three.

Wattier signed a number of fans, of which an exceedingly rich example,
an elaborate composition of nymphs and Cupids, is in the possession of
the Countess Granville. He was born at Lille in 1800, and died in
1868.

The fan leaf, ' Le Cerf de St. Hubert,' by Rosa Bonheur (born 1822,

died 1897), is dated 1896, and is consequently one of the latest works of

this illustrious painter, whose fame has become universal. The legend of

St. Hubert and his Christ vision, an unusual subject with modern artists,

though greatly favoured by the painters of the Renaissance, engaged the

attention of Rosa Bonheur as early as 1868, when she produced a crayon

study, similar in treatment to this fan leaf, with the stag shown a little

more in perspective, illustrated in Rosa Bonheur, sa Vie, son GLuvre, Anna

Klumpke, 1908. The stag of the fan leaf, reversed however, presents

many similarities to the famous picture ' Le Roi de la Foret,' painted in

1878, the same studies probably being utilised for both works. The leaf is

of silk, the painting in transparent pigment, with very little body colour

introduced. It appeared at the Franco-British Exhibition in 1908, and

280

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

is in the possession of M. Georges Cain, Musee Carnavalet, Paris, by
whose courtesy we are enabled to give the illustration. Another fan,
' Trois Vachers,' is referred to in the above-mentioned biography.

Claudius Popelin is an artist of the Napoleon in. epoch, who, in
addition to his work in enamel, produced a number of fans, examples of
which appear in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris. These are mostly
flowers and objects of natural history, drawn with considerable skill. He
was much befriended by the late Princess Mathilde (cousin of Napoleon in.)
who presented a fan of her own work to the Empress Eugenie. In the
same collection appear two fans by Ch. Chaplin, whose graceful work in
painting is well known here as on the Continent.

In the art library, Victoria and Albert Museum, is a small collection
of designs for fans, acquired from the Paris Exhibition of 1867, and typical
of the work done during the middle of the century; the fans from these
designs being made, in each instance, by Alexandre. Amongst these
is a silk leaf representing the four ages of Infancy, Youth, Manhood,
and Old Age, forming one group in a large cartouche, occupying three-
fourths of the entire space, extremely ably painted, somewhat recalling
the style of the French painter Flandrin ; the colour scheme being a mono-
tone of mauve with gold embellishments, the panel on a green ground
with lightly designed ornaments, signed F. Fossey, mdccclxiii. A
group of Watteau figures dancing, cleverly touched on a light buff
silk mount, and a shepherd piping, with shepherdess and Cupid, a circle of
Cupids hovering round a tree, also in the Watteau style, are examples of
the lighter and daintier style of mount affected by the French artists of this
epoch ; the last named signed by Madame Callamatta.

Madame Bisschop, who also has a dainty touch, executed a number of

fans during the sixties and seventies, including the silver-wedding fan of

Mr. and Lady Charlotte Schreiber. This skin mount, now in the Schreiber

collection, British Museum, though it can scarcely lay claim to the highest
2N 281

HISTORY OF THE FAN

qualities, is, nevertheless, charming in idea and pretty in colour; it represents
a sylvan scene on the borders of a lake upon which are two white swans, a
delicate allusion to the bride and bridegroom. In the centre, underneath
a tree, is a Cupid turning over the pages of a large book, inscribed
'April io, 1880, xxv.' The subject is enclosed within a cartouche of gold
and flowers.

Once again, the Royal Fan, in its hour of need, finds a friend in royalty,
on this occasion the most powerful monarch in Europe, Queen Victoria.
In 1870, the period of perhaps the lowest ebb of the fan's fortunes in this
country, at the initiative of this royal lady, an exhibition was organised
at the South Kensington Museum (now Victoria and Albert), when
a prize of ^"400 was offered by Her Majesty, and four hundred and
thirteen examples from the finest collections both here and abroad were
shown.

The great success of this exhibition, and the absorbing interest
displayed in it, naturally led to the organisation of others. Among the
measures adopted by the Worshipful Company of Fanmakers for the
purpose of reviving what was at one time 'a flourishing industry in
this ancient city,' a competitive exhibition of fans was held at Drapers'
Hall in 1878, again under the protecting aegis of royalty (H.R.H. Princess
Louise, now Duchess of Argyll). Twelve hundred and eighty-four fans,
ancient and modern, were exhibited ; gold, silver, and bronze medals, and
money prizes amounting in the aggregate to ^172 were awarded, the
freedom of the Company being in most instances granted to the prize-
winners.

Eleven years later (1889) this experiment was repeated. In addition to

prizes offered by the Fanmakers' Company, others were offered by private

individuals and public newspapers, and one hundred and six works were

entered for competition.

The Queen newspaper, the donor of one of the prizes, commenting

282

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

on the exhibition, held at Drapers' Hall during the month of May,
said : ' Considered as a whole, the exhibition did not come up to our
expectations. The liberal prizes offered ought to have brought forward
finer and more original work in a branch of minor art which is to be
considered as the special province of lady artists,1 and presents so many
opportunities for fanciful composition and refined taste in arranging and
grouping,' etc.

In the following year, 1890, the Fanmakers' Company decided to hold
their third competitive exhibition.

The Daily Graphic of May 17 said : ' The exhibition of fans organised
last year by the Company of Fanmakers gave so valuable an impetus
to English trade in this direction, that the Company very wisely and
patriotically decided to hold another this season.'

On this occasion no less a sum than ^275 was placed at the disposal
of the Company, to be distributed as prizes for fans and fan designs, the
exclusive work of British subjects, the number of exhibits reaching the very
respectable total of six hundred.

In 1891 an important exhibition of ancient and modern fans was held
at Karlsruhe, under the patronage of the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess
of Baden, a sumptuous illustrated record of the exhibition being issued, the
text written by Professor Marc Rosenberg. Sixteen prizes and forty-three
diplomas of honour were offered for competition, in which some of the
foremost continental artists took part. Of these the distinguished Austrian
painter Hans Makart claims a leading place, and may be included in the
already long list of artists of the foremost rank who have given their
attention to fan painting. A design in crayons and water-colour by him
appeared at this exhibition, and is now in the Royal Gallery at Berlin ; a
charming vision of a procession of children crowding the whole field of the
fan, suggesting the impossibility of having too many. Professor Eugen

1 There is no reason why either sex should claim a monopoly of fan painting.

283

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Klimsch of Frankfurt, the winner of one of the prizes, was represented by
' The Dance,' a composition of figures in the style of Watteau, a number
of Cupids occupying the centre of the fan, which was priced at the high
figure of .£500. Professor Hermann Gotz, director of the School of Arts
and Crafts at Karlsruhe, showed an excellent classical composition on
paper, of the chariot of an orb or planet. Professor Ferdinand Keller, of
Karlsruhe, exhibited an apotheosis of the Emperor William 1., an excellent
fan mount of a pretty Cupid on a cloud, with a medallion portrait of the
Empress and a large eagle. This in the possession of Mr. J. G. Rosenberg,
who also owns an extremely able composition of a dance of bacchantes by
Georg Papperitz.

There was also a powerful painting of the plein air school, of a pier
with fishing-boats, ' Bewegte See, Schwanenhaut,' by Professor Gustav
Schonleber ; and an excellent naturalistic painting on silk of parrots,
paroquets, etc., by Max Seliger of Berlin.

The above by no means exhausts the good things of this important
exhibition, in which was represented practically every phase of modern
art, and amply demonstrated the fact that the Germans, artists and
public alike, are much more alive to the importance of the fan, both as
affording an opportunity for artistic expression, and as an accessory of
costume, than we are in this country.

Upon occasion, the fan has led to unforeseen and undesired conse-
quences ; a story is told of the eccentric King Ludwig of Bavaria, the
gallant and prodigal admirer of the dancer Lola Montds. At one of the
balls of his Court, a fair princess having inadvertently let her fan fall to the
ground, the monarch hastened to pick it up and to restore it to the hands of
the giddy beauty, when his forehead came in sharp contact with that of
another gentleman, no less desirous than the king of paying homage to
the fair. The shock was so great and so violent that King Ludwig,

stunned for the moment, soon afterwards discovered growing on his

284

Aaldaraph fan..

su L*

ALm^-Tv.cUr^. O.A1.. T(A.

Autvoraph Fan, Jane

Mr Frank Branywjm. AJLA.

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

forehead that enormous wen, so well known, and as celebrated as it
was unlucky.1

Autograph and inscription fans, which have, during the last two or
three decades become popular with the few fortunate ladies who are happy
in the possession of a circle of artistic friends, are but a revival of an
old-world fashion. We have referred, early in this work, to the custom
of poetic inscription which prevailed in China during the Liang dynasty,
and to the love-sick lady Pan, of the Han dynasty, who adopted this
by way of giving expression to her unrequited love. M. Achille Poussielgue,
Voyage en Chine de M. et Mmc Bourboulon, says : ' There are fans of
two kinds, open and folding. The former are made of a sheet of ivory
or paper, and are used as autograph albums ; and it is upon the surface
of these white fans that a Chinaman begs his friend to leave a sentence, a
drawing, or some characters, by way of recalling the absent to his memory.
These album fans, to which great or noted men affix their seals, become
of great value.' ' In the romance, Ping-chan-ling yen, a eunuch attached
to the Emperor's household, Lieou by name, begs Chan-Tai, the noble
daughter of Chan-hien-jin, to honour him by writing on a fan with her
own fair hand. " My sole desire," he says, " is to possess a fan ornamented
with your verses." ' Some of these autograph fans from the Negroni
collection were sold in London about 1866, after the Chinese war, and
are said to have reached the extraordinary figure of ^900 apiece.

In Japan, also, a charming device for the entertainment of the guests
at artistic social gatherings consisted in each member of the company
making little sketches expressive of some dainty fancy, or historic incident,
on fans. These were passed round, exchanged, and carried away as
souvenirs of a friendly and interesting occasion.

It was a happy inspiration of the late Lady Alma Tadema to revive the
autograph fan in the form of sign manuals of famous artists and musicians.

1 Octave Uzanne, The Fan.
285

HISTORY OF THE FAN

The fan consists of twenty-six blades of plain wood on which appear the
signatures of such famous painters as Bastien-Lepage, Joseph Israels,
Du Maurier, Legros, accompanied in most instances by characteristic
sketches ; and of such musical executants as Charles Halle\ with, in
several instances, the addition of a few bars of music. The sketches
are dated 1879.

The fan of Mrs. Arthur Lewis is a development of the same idea.
This has nineteen blades, and the space between the rounded edge and
the connecting ribbon is utilised for sketches by Orchardson, Colin Hunter,
Pettie, Millais, Leslie, Alma Tadema, Du Maurier, Phil Morris, Ansdell,
J. C. Hook, Frank Dicksee, Goodall, Herkomer, Fildes, Marks, Boughton,
and Adrian Stokes. The outer blades are ornamented by arabesques en-
closing the monogram of the owner, a laurel wreath, and painter's palettes.
The dates recorded are 1880-84.

The popularity on the Continent of this form of autograph fan is
evidenced by the fact that three examples were shown at Karlsruhe in
1 89 1 from the collection of Herr Conrad Dreher of Munich. These included
the work of such well-known German artists as Ernst Zimmermann, Franz
Stuck, Lenbach, Holmberg, Lowith, Diez, Hermann Kaulbach, and others.

At Karlsruhe, also, was shown an autograph fan belonging to the
Baroness Friederichsy, on which were the signatures of all the diplomatists
who attended the Berlin Congress. Countess Onola possesses a similar
fan, with the autographs of the royal family and the more distinguished
personages of the Berlin Court, including Prince Bismarck and Count
Moltke.

Mrs. Joachim-Gibson has a ' Wagner ' fan, with printed portrait of
the master, views of the Wagner theatre and of Bayreuth, and, on the
reverse, autographs of famous Wagner singers.

Among novelties or curiosities in fans is an example shown at the

Vienna Exhibition in 1873, in which each rib was a knife or a fork,

286

31-

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

or a spoon, or a comb, or a pair of scissors, etc. Any single piece could be
removed for use without spoiling the tout ensemble.

In the exhibition of the Fanmakers' Company at Drapers' Hall in
1890, a 'butterfly fan' appeared. Two large gauze wings, speckled and
veined to imitate a gigantic insect, form the fan, the body represented by
the handle ; upon pressing a button or spring, the wings are set in motion,
and, by their fluttering, fan the bearer.

Mrs. Kendal, the famous actress, is also credited with a little surprise,
in the shape of a ' dressing-case fan.' This is a fan and entire toilet-case
in one, and affords its owner an opportunity of beautifying herself on
occasions when the ordinary means are unattainable. The sticks are of
silver, the leaf of black gauze, with a black velvet mask, resembling those
the Venetians carry at Carnival time, set in the centre. Behind this mask,
which permits the owner to see everything, may be carried on all the
toilet duties for which the fan contains conveniences. Upon turning back
one of the broad outer sticks, a little mirror is revealed, and underneath
the other is a receptacle for hair-pins, scissors, glove-hook, etc. At the
lower end of the fan is a silver box containing a small powder-puff. This
was advertised some ten or fifteen years ago as manufactured by Messrs.
W. Thornhill and Co.

The employment of the ostrich feather for the folding-fan has been
revived during recent years, following an older custom. Many examples
occurring in old engravings and pictures may be cited ; amongst them the
portrait group of the family of Jan Miense Molenaer, by Van Loon,
previously referred to, in which a lady holds a folding-fan of white ostrich
feathers. (See illustration, p. 196.)

In the sixteenth century, and for a long subsequent period, Venice
continued to be the principal emporium for supplying ostrich feathers
to Europe, and in no country were they more extensively used than in

England. At present England is the mart of the world for feathers ;

287

HISTORY OF THE FAN

foreign manufacturers, therefore, must perforce come here to make their
selections.

It is this latter circumstance, doubtless, together with the universal
popularity of the feather itself, which has occasioned their revival — some
of the handsomest fans made at present being of that character. The
aesthetic value of these fans, for the most part depends, no doubt, from
considerations of cost, upon the beauty of the ostrich feather itself, the
sticks being generally of plain ivory, tortoise-shell, horn, or bone — thus
justifying the criticism passed upon one of the prize-winners at a
competitive exhibition at Drapers' Hall, that it was to the ostrich that
the prize ought really to go. Under no circumstances, however, could
these folding-fans hope to vie with the magnificent rigid fans of the
Elizabethan era, the form of these handles, apparently, offering better
opportunities to the designer than do the radiating sticks of the folding-fan.
If we might have feathers set in handles designed in the sumptuous manner
of these early fans, well and good ; if we could have the sticks of the
folding-fans more in keeping with the sumptuous nature of the feather,
well also, though not quite so good ; but the ever-present question of
cost must always remain a determining factor.

The feathers of other birds have also been, and are at present, em-
ployed for the purposes of the fan ; in this connection the charming
Chinese fan at South Kensington of the feathers of the Argus pheasant
may be cited. (Illustrated facing p. 59.)

The system of applied feather-work is referred to on a number of

occasions in this work, several illustrations being given, notably the

Chinese feather screens belonging to Mr. Crewdson, and the Queen Anne

screen of Mr. Messel. The practice was common during the latter half

of the eighteenth century, used both for fans and other purposes, and

it was a favourite pastime with Mrs. Montague, who refers to it in one

of her letters, dated 1785: — ' I am obliged to you for your kind attention

288

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

to my feather-work. The neck and breast feathers of the stubble goose

are very useful, and I wish your cook would save those of the Michaelmas

goose for us. Things homely and vulgar are sometimes more useful than

the elegant, and the feathers of the goose may be better adapted to some

occasions than the plumes of the Phoenix.'

Thus Cowper, On Mrs. Montagu 's Feather Hangings :

' The Birds put off their ev'ry hue,
To dress a room for Montagu.'

Fashion has again, during recent years, adopted this system of
feather decoration for fans.

'The latest craze of Viennese society,' says the New York Com-
mercial, November 23, 1890, ' is a passion for fans of mountain-cock
feathers. The last question the young Austrian belle asks her admirer
before he goes on a hunt is, "Won't you try, please, to bag me a fine
fan?" An ideal fan of this kind must contain only feathers from birds
brought down by the most expert shots, and every feather must be the
lone representative of the giver's skill ; consequently, such a fan may
record the admiration and skill of sixty or seventy hunters. It is not
unusual to have cut in the ribs of the fans a brief account of the circum-
stances under which the birds were shot. The German Empress is said
to have expressed a wish last summer for such a fan, and ever since that
time the young bloods of the Austrian Court, who have already bagged
fans for their own women, have been shooting right and left for the
Empress's sake. The handle of the fan, now being completed in Vienna,
will be set with jewels in the Prussian colours.'

A more unique example of the spoils of sport is the fan which, by

the graciousness of H.R.H. the Princess of Wales, we are enabled to

illustrate here. In this, the blades are of red tortoise-shell, twenty in

number. The feather portion is composed of a series of tiny feathers

from the wing of the woodcock. These, 6520 in number, were supplied
20 289

HISTORY OF THE FAN

by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales from the wings of 3260 woodcocks, there
being one only of these miniature feathers in each wing of the bird.
Each single feather is fixed with two stitches of thread and worked upon
a linen base, the back being formed of the ordinary feathers from the
breast and wings.

The fan was commenced on the 18th August 1900, and only com-
pleted on the 28th October 1901. The lady who worked it was unable
to apply herself for more than an hour or so at a time, the work being
so excessively fine and tedious.

The manufacture of the fan was entrusted to Mr. Alfred Clark, of
33 New Bond Street,1 the work being carried out under his direction,
and, we believe, on a principle of his own.

M. Edouard Moreau signed a number of fans from i860 onwards,
characterised by a charming delicacy of execution and elaboration of detail.
A representative example is given, which appeared in the International
Exhibition of 1862, and was purchased for the South Kensington Museum.
This, an ivory brisd, is painted with three medallions of ' The Tour-
nament,' ' Before the Tournament,' and ' After the Tournament.' The
fan was made by Alexandre, and bears very favourable comparison with
the best work of the eighteenth century. (Facing p. 87.)

A fan, also manufactured by Alexandre and painted by Moreau, was
exhibited in 1870 by Madame Maurice Richard (au Ministere des Beaux-
Arts, Paris). The vellum mount has for centre a medallion, with the
initials ' H. R.' (Hdlene Richard) surmounted by two doves. On either
side are medallions with figures emblematic of Sculpture and Music,
Poetry and Painting, painted en camaieu on a gold ground by Moreau.
On the reverse, in a medallion, the Genius of the Arts awarding wreaths
to Sculpture, Architecture, Painting, Music, and Poetry. The ivory stick,

1 These details are most kindly supplied by the Private Secretary, the Hon. A. Nelson Hood, who
also photographed the fan for this work.

290

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

carved and pierced in the style of the sixteenth century, is also painted
by Moreau, with medallions of seraphs playing musical instruments, and
supporting emblems of the arts they represent; the guards bearing the
initials ' H. R.' in gold.

Many fans bearing Moreau's signature have mounts of lace, the
ivory stick being minutely painted with medallions of figure subjects
near the handle end, usually three subjects enclosed in an ornamental
setting. An excellent example is given from the collection at the Victoria
and Albert Museum. M. Duvelleroy (of Regent Street) also has a fan
arranged on similar lines ; another, in the possession of Mr. G. J. Rosen-
berg, was exhibited at Karlsruhe in 1891, both the last named being
made by Alexandre.

This leads us to the important subject of lace mounts. The use of
this delicate material for the fan, especially suited by its lightness and
daintiness, has been revived during recent years.

A lace fan having in the centre the word ' Elena,' surmounted by a
royal crown, was made at Burano and presented to Queen Elena of Italy
on her marriage in 1896. In Devonshire, also, lace mounts have been
made; in the Paris Exhibition of 1900 appeared a fan with a coat of
arms in the centre, in which Miss Trevelyan adapted an Italian design
to the old Honiton stitches, illustrated by Mrs. Bury Palliser in her
work on Lace.

Fans have been, and are, a feature of the Youghal lace industry,

established by the sisterhood of the Presentation Convent, county Cork,

the oldest of the many that have sprung up under the fostering care of

the Irish nuns, and dating back to the dark times of 1847, when famine

decimated the rural population of the south and west of Ireland. The

designs are in each instance furnished by the sisters, who are qualified

under the Board of Education.

The Irish flat needle-point of Youghal, though doubtless derived in

291

HISTORY OF THE FAN

the first instance from foreign sources, may be said to have developed
into a purely native art, capable of well holding its own against any
contemporary foreign work.

Fan leaves have been worked for many highly placed personages ;
the example illustrated was presented by the Earl of Crewe to H.R.H.
the Princess Mary on her marriage, and is, perhaps, one of the most
successful in point of design and richness of effect. A wedding gift to
H.R.H. the Princess Maud of Wales has for centre the initial M. sur-
mounted by a crown.

A beautiful example, of the finest workmanship, was presented to
H.M. Queen Alexandra on the occasion of her first visit to Ireland after
the Coronation, in 1903, and has for centre the Irish harp, with the
appropriate inscription in Celtic half uncials, on a ribbon running over
the whole field of the fan :

' I cool, I refresh, and I can keep secrets. '

Another fan was presented to H.R.H. the Princess Margaret of
Connaught as a wedding gift, and obtained a prize at an exhibition in
Dublin in 1897. The number of medals awarded by the various inter-
national and other exhibitions testify to the universal appreciation of
this delicate industry, which has for some years past, with the full consent
of the nuns, been formed into a co-operative society, thus enabling the
workers to participate fully in the profits accruing to the association.
The thread is a linen one of various degrees of fineness, from the strong
No. 1 to the almost invisible No. 400, and though so delicately wrought,
it wears better than most other laces, and can be cleaned repeatedly
without suffering injury in texture or appearance.1

We are enabled, by the gracious permission of Her Majesty, to
illustrate the lace fan presented by the Worshipful Company of Fan-

1 The above facts are taken from an article in the Irish Rosary for June 1898.

292

•J

■4
1S

S *

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

makers to Queen Alexandra for use on Coronation Day, 1902. This
bears two crossed A's surmounted by the royal crown. On the panaches
the royal monogram again appears surmounted by the crown.

Lace may be said to be the one single industry remaining com-
paratively uninfluenced by the modern art movement, which is pro-
fessedly a return to the independent study of natural forms. We say
comparatively uninfluenced, since most praiseworthy, and, indeed, success-
ful attempts have been made both in this country and abroad to profit
by the abundant ornamental suggestion which Nature everywhere offers
us. The beautiful lace fan contributed by M. Duvelleroy suggests almost
infinite possibilities in the treatment of this charming material ; it is
designed on a convention essentially modern ; it is the art of to-day, of
the present moment, owing practically nothing to the past, and represent-
ing that revolt against tradition, which, for good or for ill, has come to
be one of the most significant features of modern art.

Nor is this the only instance that might be cited. Excellent
designs for lace mounts, based upon natural forms, have from time to
time been made in our schools; in this connection may be mentioned
the work of Miss Lydia Hammett, of the Taunton School of Art, who
has produced charming fan mounts in Brussels and other lace in which
bird and plant life are happily treated, and with a proper and due sense
of the limitations imposed by the material.

Miss L. Oldroyd, also, has worked a number of charming lace
mounts, including one for a fan presented to Queen Victoria by the
Worshipful Company of Fanmakers on the occasion of the diamond
jubilee.

On the Continent, among some of the most admirably reticent work,
a treatment more frankly unusual has been adopted, not without successful
results. In the article on ' Der Modeme Facher,' in the Kunstgewerbe-blatt
for September 1904, Frau M. Erler gives several admirable examples

293

HISTORY OF THE FAN

from Vienna and elsewhere, together with illustrations of her own work,
consisting of a happy arrangement of applique embroidery and network
or gauze insertion, extremely effective, and losing none of its value from
the fact of its having been obtained by simple means. We have festoons
of flowers embroidered on a light ground of gauze, with ornamental spaces
of network insertion ; we have the mountain-ash arranged symmetrically,
the leaves painted red with embroidered outline; the ' honesty ' treated as
a broad border, the outline embroidered ; the rose treated as an all-over
pattern, the groundwork in artfully alternated lace and net.

At the time of writing, the news of Charles Conder' s death reaches us.
He was a man of singular gifts, a modern of the moderns, whose work,
though doubtless derived from that of a past age, would have been
impossible at any other epoch than our own. What Conder undoubtedly
possessed, and in a very high degree, was that subtle quality which
for lack of a better word we call style, a quality not easy of defini-
tion, but readily felt. It would be difficult to say what style is, it is far
easier to say what it is not ; it is not for example, design ; a man may
possess considerable power of design without much perception of style ; it
is not a sense of proportion, although this comes nearer the mark, it is not
originality either, since a man may be very original indeed, and only prove
himself ridiculous ; it is rather, a happy blending of these several elements,
and some others also.

To this great gift of nature, since this quality in its highest form
cannot be acquired, Conder added practically nothing. It is with a feeling
akin to resentment that we find faculties so exceedingly rare and so
precious, allied to such a lamentable lack of training and art education.
It is indeed possible that, if his life had been prolonged, these short-
comings would have been supplied, as Burne-Jones taught himself the
human figure after he became famous ; but, after all, criticism is per-
haps somewhat ungracious where there is so much that is admirable,

294

■I

■h

PN C_

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

and the utility of speculations as to the ' might have beens ' is extremely
questionable.

The number of Conder fans existing in various collections must be
considerable. Mr. Lane has a dozen, or possibly more, of which perhaps
the finest is reproduced here. Silk is the material employed, to which his
method is especially suited. They appear to have been mounted only in
very rare instances, and are generally framed for purposes of decoration.
There is no reason why they should not be used — in fact, there is every
reason why they should, since suitability to a prescribed purpose is one of
the very first canons of good art. Mrs. Lane has a blue fan, mounted,
and in use.

The work of Frank Conder is obviously founded on that of Charles,
with which it presents many features in common. Among the several
fans by this artist illustrated in the winter number of the Studio, that
representing two young girls holding masks, with Cupids, and in the back-
ground a river and bridge, is perhaps the most individual.

The many admirers of Mr. Brangwyn's work, and they are legion,
will doubtless welcome the two characteristic examples given of fans by
his hand. In both instances, the colour scheme is a play upon blue, some-
what similar to, and at the same time, necessarily, vastly different from, the
red fan of Mr. Conder. The motto of Danton the Republican — 'de
l'audace, et encore de l'audace, et toujours de l'audace,' ' to dare, and again to
dare, and always and evermore to dare,' would seem to be peculiarly
fitting to the work of Mr. Brangwyn. In the hands of a less gifted artist
this would probably mean disaster ; in the instance of the original of the
coloured illustration, a bold gouache on silk, the result is one of almost
overpowering brillance. The half-tone illustration represents a sketch on
grey paper, and must be considered merely as the first idea of a fan, to be
materially modified in the working out.

Mr. Brangwyn has, among his multifarious activities, found time to

295

HISTORY OF THE FAN

produce quite a number of fans and designs for fans, which have found
their way into various hands. In the Studio winter number for 190 1-2
appeared a coloured illustration — a rich composition of young girls gather-
ing roses — also painted on silk. In the article on ' Der Moderne Facher,'
in Kunstgewerbe-blatt for September 1904, by Frau Margaret Erler of
Berlin, previously alluded to, appeared the first sketch for this Stndio fan,
vigorously drawn in chalk.

It is impossible at the present stage of a career having in the natural
order of things so much before it, and in the face of such superabundant
energy, to form any definite idea of the ultimate outcome of Mr. Brang-
wyn's art ; of his present accomplishment, his etched work, which ranks
amongst the most remarkable produced during recent periods, seems likely,
in the opinion of the present writer, to earn for him the most enduring
fame. If we might conceive etched or engraved fans becoming again
popular in the twentieth, as they were in the eighteenth century, it might
be an interesting speculation as to how Mr. Brangwyn would treat an
etched fan. The material of zinc, which he so much affects, and in which
he has discovered such great possibilities, would, doubtless, be unsuitable
for such a delicate object ; nevertheless, we can imagine some rapid and
characteristic note on copper, the print further enlivened here and there by
a touch of colour, as a suitable thing to be fluttered in the hand of the fair.
Such work would provide, in these days of lack of patronage, other artists
also with a means of augmenting their too often, it is to be feared, but
slender incomes, since there would be an additional incentive to purchase a
print that might be applied to a definite purpose, or made the occasion of
some graceful offering.

Mr. H. Granville Fell, whose Court of Love, a composition in the

shape of a reversed heart, with Cupid enthroned in the centre, was illustrated

in the Studio winter number above referred to, is another instance of an

English present-day artist who has essayed fan painting or designing.

296

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

Miss Jessie King, whose charmingly original style is admirably suited to
the fan, was also represented in the same publication. The beautiful fan
graciously lent for reproduction by H.R.H. Princess Henry of Battenberg,
the wedding gift of Queen Victoria, is entirely of English workmanship,
designed and painted by a lady student of the Training School at South
Kensington.

' What style of ornament is most suitable for the fan ? ' asks Charles
Blanc, who draws attention to the fact of the pleats breaking up or
distorting the design or picture. Our author suggests as a possible way
out of this difficulty ' that each pleat or fold should have a separate subject,
or, at least, that the subject be so arranged that the pleats have relation to
each other, as, a Watteau harlequin kissing his hand to a columbine, a
Leander quarrelling with Isabelle, these being placed on blades that in
refolding would reunite the lovers and reconcile the disputants. But to
develop a graceful subject on a series of projecting and retreating angles,
all more or less acute, would be a waste of labour. Is it not better to use
in these cases a different or a radiating ornament? Is it not better to
scatter over a fan a charmingly discordant arrangement of pictures and
colours, or even to place isolated subjects between the folds, in order that
elegant women, in manipulating their fans, may have twenty opportunities
of showing in each fancy group the artist's talent, and at the same time, of
displaying some special charm of their own — a pretty hand, a well-turned
arm, or beautiful eyes ? ' !

Our author has drawn attention, in his light and charming way, to a
difficulty which is practically insuperable ; there is nothing new in this
suggestion of decorating each pleat with a separate subject, or of a con-
secutive series of subjects. Many instances of its application might
be cited ; some are given in this work, notably the Italian fan of mica, in
which subdivision is carried to its utmost limit. But we must not take our

1 Art and Ornament in Dress.
2 P 297

HISTORY OF THE FAN

author too seriously, and although his suggested fan, if carried out, would
be a most exquisite experience, especially if drawn with the power of a
Gavarni, or designed with the skill of a Sambourne or a Caran d'Ache,
the opportunity afforded to the painter by the full space of the mount far
outweighs any slight disturbance of the design caused by the pleating ;
moreover, is it not a fact that silk, the material most favoured by modern
artists, which, when prepared with rice size and stretched, offers as suitable
a material as could be desired for the free play of the brush, opens out to
practically a flat surface?

George Augustus Sala has referred to the fan painted by Sir Matthew
Digby Wyatt with the subject of the 'Triumph of Love,' as marking the
period of the English revival of fan painting, and as a striking exemplifi-
cation of the folly of assuming that a great artist derogates from the dignity
of his calling by painting fans. He may stoop, indeed, says this author
felicitously, but it will be to conquer!

Our task is at length completed ; we have endeavoured to trace to its
source in the dimmest past the chequered history of this little toy, once the
pride and the glory of kings, and now the plaything of queens. We trust
we have shown that, in the words of Sir George Birdwood, there is perhaps
more in a fan than was dreamt of in Johnson's matter-of-fact definition : —
'An instrument used by ladies to move the air and cool themselves.'

What, then, of the future? May we reasonably look forward in this
twentieth century for a renaissance of the fan ; for a re-attainment, if not
of its past spiritual significance, at least of something of its artistic
possibilities?

The future is full of hope ; we have turned our backs upon the bad old

nineteenth century, with its manifold outrages upon the aesthetic sense;

the foundations, at any rate, of a living art have begun to be laid — were

begun, as a matter of fact, by this same nineteenth century, following that

strange natural order of the outcome of good from evil and the apparent

298

ShetchDesufn /Sr Feu

^?yr.

A (j-<&~co7id <^ 'CAicdnen. .

6y CWoallircrytRLeaJ.

MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS

inseparability of both ; a new Phoenix has arisen out of the ashes of
the old ; a new era has come, showing everywhere signs of a revived
artistic life, with plenty of capable heads to invent and willing hands to
carry out. Mesdames, it is with your charming selves that the issue
rests. You have but to utter the word and your sceptre shall again become
a wonder of wreathed beauty and woven grace, rivalling in its blossoming
the golden-flowered sceptres of eld ! l

1 The Etruscan sceptre in the gold ornament room, British Museum, has the top formed like a flower,
the petals of beaten gold, the inner core a large emerald.

FROM A CHINESE LACQUERED SCREEN. (Victoria and Albert Museum.)

299

INDEX

Abanico di novia, 99.

Abano, Portuguese fire-fan, 12, 13.

' Abolition of the Slave-Trade,' 226.

'Achilles and Deidamia,' 180.

Actaeon fan, 146.

' Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,' 194.

Addison, quotation, 189.

^Elian. Festival of Apollo at Lencos, 24.

Ajanta, cave-temples, 41.

Akbar-Namah, 45.

Akome ogi, 63, 64.

Albin, St. M. Philippe de, 223.

Alexander VI., Pope, 107.

Alexandra, H.M. Queen, 195, 278, 292, 293.

Alexandre, M., 278, 279, 281, 290, 291.

Alma-Tadema, Lad)', 285.

Sir L., 202.

Alum, 36, note, 37.

Amaravati tope, 41.

'Ancient Marriage,' 180.

Andaman Islands, 85.

Anderson, Dr., quotation, 48, note, 68.

Andre, Eugene, 55.

Angelo, Michael, 1 1 5.

Anne, H.R. H. Princess, 180.

Queen, screen of, 288.

Antoinette, Marie-, 117, 132, 159, 166, 167,

169, 213, 225.
'Antony and Cleopatra,' 198.
Apostolical Constitutions, 87.
Araki, 73.

Archaeological Association, Journal of 93, note.
Archaological Journal, 93, note.
Arevalo, Cano de, 127, r28.
Arhats, 62.
Aristophanes, 36.
Aristotle, 118.

'Ascent of Mont Blanc,' 276.
Assignat-fans, 223, 224, 227.
Assur-bani-pal, 20, 21, 22.
Assyrian plaited hand-fan, 25.
'Athenian Stuart,' 185.
Atsumori, 72, note, 73.

Atterbury, Dr., Bishop of Rochester, epigram 1
Aubery, MS., prodigious fans, temp. Henry vm
Audsley, G. Ashdown, 57, note.
Augustine, St., 96.

87.

, S.

168,

'Aurora,' by Guido, 123.

' Aurora and Zephyr,' 132.

Autograph and inscription fans, 5S, 59, 68, 69, 285.

' Autumn ' fan, 59.

Baal, 22.
Baalbek, 23.
Baal-Shemeh, 23.
Bacchus, mystical fan of, 11.

and Ariadne, fans of, 122, 123, 124.

Baden, Grand Duke Frederick of, 99.

Grand Duchess of, wedding fan, 277.

Badini, Charles Francis, 254.

Baird, H. M., quotation, 181.

' Bal d'Amours,' 277.

'Bal des Nations,' 210.

Bald, Charles the, 98.

Ball at the Tuileries, 1829, 274.

Balloon-fan, 214.

Balzac, Guez de, 26, 144, 168.

Bamboo-fan, 50, 55, 62, 74, 75.

Barclay, Ship of Fools, 94.

Barnwell, Cambridge, 98.

Bartholomaus, Frau, 136.

Bartolozzi, 193, 268.

Bastard, 278.

Bat Bu'u, 52.

Battoir fan, 163.

Baude, Alphonse, 277.

Beaumarchais, 213, 215.

Beaussier, Countess de, 152.

' Before and after Marriage,' 264.

Behrens, W. L., 70.

Bella, Stefano della, 205.

' Belle Chanteuse,' 208.

Bellows or fire fans, 10, n, 12, and note, 13, 80;

Queen Mary, 102.
Benin, 83.

Berger, Eugene, 278.
Berlin Museum, 98, 269.
Berrettini (Pietro da Cortona), 122.
Berri, Madame la Duchesse de, 274.
Bessborough, Lord, 124.

' Betrothal of Louis xv. and Marie Leczinska,' 161.
' Betrothal of Louis XVI. and Marie-Antoinette,

132

3OI

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Beze, Theodore de, 207.
Binyon, Laurence, 73.
Birdwood, Miss Ethel, 1 70.

Sir George, 15, note, 2

36, note, 107, 170, 298.
Bischoffsheim, Mrs., 163.
Bisschop, Madame, 281.
Blanc, Charles, 3, 121, 297.
Blanchard, M., 214.
Blonde] : — Greek figures, 29 :

2.1, quotation, 35,

Peru and Mexico,

S4 ; Middle Ages, g.| ; flag-fan, 09, 100,
171 ; lorgnettes,

■36;
173;

152, 204, 207.

166.

agricultural fetes,

quotation, 279.
Boileau, Etienne, 94.
Boissey, Louis de, quotation, 9.
Bonheur, Rosa, 280.
Bosse, Abraham, 148, 150, 151
Boucher, 142.

Bouchot, Henri, 165, note, 207, 225, 227, 228.
Bradford, Countess of, 167.
Brangwyn, Frank, A.R.A., 295, 296
Brantome, 101, 102, note, 144, 145,
Bictigny seal of Edward III., 1 10.
Bridal fan of Adelaide of Savoy, Duchess of Bur-
gundy, 158.

of Marie- Antoinette, 166, 167.

of H.R.H. Princess Anne, 190.

Brise fan, its construction and decoration, 119;

period of, 119; modern, 278; exhibitions of,

282, 283.
Bristol, Dowager Marchioness of, 123, 125, 132, 153,

161, 165, 194, 197, 198, 276.
British Guiana, So.
Museum, 48, 50, 51, 58, 61, 62, 63, 72, 76,

So, 82, S3, 84, 85, 91, 93, 205, 232.
' Broken ' Chinese fan, 58.
Bruyere, Madame la, 169.
Bruyn, A. de, in, 112, 196, 197.
Buddha, Gautama, 34 ; Gaya, 34.
Buddhist priests, Siam, 42.
Bulrushes, 50.
Burdett-Coutts, Baroness, 191, 259.

W., 56, 117, 125, 247.

Burges, W., 95, note, 96, 97.

Burma, monastic novitiate of, 6

Burmese regalia, 43.

Burty, Ph., 71.

Bushell, S. W., 21, 56, note, 6y, note

Butler, 87, 89.

Cabinet de Medailles, Paris, 99.
' Cabriolet ' fan, 164, 226, 227.
Cain, Georges, 281.
Caligraphic School, Japan, 62.
Caligraphy, 69, note.

King of, 34.

Callamatta, Madame, 281.

Callot Jacques, 204, 207.

Cambridge, Augusta, Duchess of, 166.

Camp-fan (jin sen), 73.

Campbell's London Tradesman, 1747, quotation,

179.
Canal, Antonio (Canaletto), 125, 191, 258.
Canning, Lady, 133.
'Capture of the Balearic Islands,' 129.
Carlos HI., King of Spain, 1759, 129, 130.
Carlyle, Thomas, 215, 218.
Carracci, Agostino, 105, 180, 204.

Annibale, 122, 123.

Carrand collection, 90.

'Carrousel at Madrid,' 129.

Case or cover of a fan, 21, 22.

Ceremonial fan, 82, 89.

'CerfdeSt. Hubert,' 280.

Chamba, 44.

Chamberlain, Basil, 72, 75.

Chambers, Dictionary uf 4rts and Sciences, 25, note.

Chambrun, Comtesse de, 165.

Chapel-fan, 251.

Chapt, Madame la Baronne de, CEuvres Philoso-

phiques, 3.
Chardin, M., 123.

I'oyages, 35.

Charles v., 99.

Charles, Prof., 213.

Charlotte, Queen, management of fan, 7.

Chateau de Pierre, excavation at the, 108.

Chaudet, 229.

Chaurie, 38, 39.

Chesterfield, Lord, 259, note.

Child, Josiah, 164.

Children's fans, exhibition of, 125.

Chinese feather-screens, 288.

Chodowiecki, D., 245, 269.

Chrism, consecrations of, 88.

Chrysostom, St., 88, note.

Chukei, 65.

Church-fan, 193, 248, 249, 250, 251.

Cipriani, 193, 268.

Clark, J. W., 98, note.

Cleopatra, 19.

Climenson, E. J., quotation, 190.

Clouct, Francois, 138.

Cluny, Musee de, 91, 114, 146.

Coburg, H.R.H. Duke of, 198.

Cochin, Nicolas, 205.

Cockade fan, 83, 100.

Code of the fan (Japan), 65.

Cole, Sir Henry, 280.

Colombia, Republic of, bellows fan, 12.

Columbus Christopher, expedition to America, 107.

Compte-Calix, 27S.

302

INDEX

Conder, Charles, 294, 295.

Frank, 295.

Josiah, 64, note.

Connaught, H.R.H. Princess Margaret of, 292.

Consort, Prince, 203.

Conversation or speaking fan, 253.

Coomaraswarmy, A. K., 37, note, 43.

Copts, 41.

' Coquette, La,' 208, 209.

Corisandres, 274.

Coronation fan of H.M. Queen Alexandra, 293.

banquet of George II., 232.

Corot, 278.

Cortona, Pietro da, 122.

Coryat, Thomas, 112.

Cosway, 195.

Court-fan, 63, 64.

'Court of Love,' 296.

Courtesans, 53.

'Courtship and Marriage of the Dauphin,' 162, 166.

Cousin, Jean, 138.

Couture, 278.

Cover or case of a fan, 21, 22.

Coverley, Sir Roger de, 187.

Cowper, 289.

Coypel, Antoine, 153.

Craven, Dowager Duchess of, 132.

Cray, Madame du, 169.

Cr£py, 208.

Crescent-shaped hand-fan, 40.

Crests, fan-, 1 10.

Crewdson, Wilson, 50, 64, 255, 288.

Cruikshank, 246.

Crusaders, 25, 100.

Cullam, Sir John, Bart., 103, note.

Cumming, C. F. Gordon, 35, note.

' Cupid's Hive,' 125.

Curiosities in fans, 286, 287.

Cust, Lionel, 193, note, 268.

Cyrenians, sacrifices to fly-catching god, 23.

Dagger-fan, 58.
Dahl, Michael, 153.
Dai Tengu, 60, 61.
D'Albuquerque, Alphonso, 107.
D'Alembert, 153.
Dance-fan, 73, 82.
Dancing-fan (mai ogi), 62, 73.
D'Arblay, Madame, letter, 7-8, 192.
Date of a fan, important consideration in determin-
ing, 149.
Davenant, Sir W., 101.
Davis, Sir John Francis, 107.
Decoupe fan, 114, 146, 17S.
Delhi, 42.

Derivation of the word/««, 10.

Derri, Nubia, Temple of, 15.

' Descente en Angleterre, 1S03,' 229.

'Desespoir des Pensionnaires,' 222.

Desroches, Mile., 114, 115.

Devaucay, Madame, 174.

Devonshire, Georgina, Duchess of, 195.

D'Hautefort, Mile., 105.

Diamonds, in handles, 103.

Diaz, 275, 278.

Dilke, Lady, 139, note.

Disc standards, Assyrian, 25, 37.

Disraeli, Benjamin, Contarini Fleming, 4, 135.

Disvata, 37.

Dobson, Austin, 239.

Doran, Dr., 7, note.

Dore, Madame, 144.

' Double-entente,' Chinese, 58.

Double or reversible fan, 120, 121.

Drake, Sir Francis, 103.

Drapers' Hall Exhibition, 187S, 122.

Drawings of fans by Poggi, 193.

Dreher, Conrad, 286.

' Droits de l'Homme, Les,' 221.

Dryden, John, 163.

Duchatel, Countess, 159.

Duck-foot or Ferrara fan, 107.

' Duck-Hunting,' 252, 253.

Dugdale, 92, note.

Dumoutier, G., 52, note.

Duncannon, Lady, 124.

Dutch painted fans, 196 ; early use, 197 ; painted
mounts, 197 ; historical and fanciful subjects,
198; treatment of the mount, 198; French,
Italian, and Chinese influences on the treat-
ment of the mount, 198 ; Flemish, 199 : varnish,
200; ivory brise, 200; horn, 201 : small
decorated spangled, 201 ; sticks, 202.

' Dutch Settlements in the East Indies,' 197.

Duvelleroy, M., 121, 124, 137, 276, 278, 279, 291,

293-
Dyonisia, 11.

Early history of fan, Japan, 60.

East India Company, 176.

Edward in., Bretigny seal of, no.

Egerton, Hon. Wilbraham, 37, note.

Egyptian fan, plaited hand, 13 ; processional

14, 15, 16, 17; semicircular hand, 13, 14;

square, 19.
Eleanor, Queen, 102.
' Eleanora d'Este,' 113.
Elena, Queen of Italy, 291.
Elizabeth, Queen, 102, 178.
Emblem, fan, 17, 18, 39.

303

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Embroidered Dutch fans, 199.

Employment of fans in religious ceremonies, 15, 20,

-'7. 52. S7-94.
Enamel, 55, 56.
Enault, Louis, 136.

Engraved fans of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, French —
Earliest, 204.

Classical, 206.

Topical, 207.

Naval and military, 207.

Separation of America from England, 2 1 2.

Capture of Granada, 2 1 2.

Louis Seize, 212.

Birth of the Dauphin, 212.

Professor Charles's balloon, 214.

Beaumarchais' comedy, Le Mariage tie Figaro, 2 id.

Operatic, 216.

The Revolution, 219.

Mirabeau, 223.

Paper-money difficulties, 223, 224, 227.

Abolition of the Slave-Trade, 226.

Cabriolet, 227.

Napoleon Bonaparte, 228, 229.

Russian campaign of 181 2, 230.

Nicaragua Canal, 230.
Engraved fans of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries, English —

Coronation of George 11., 232.

Beggar's Opera, 233.

Marriage of the Crown Princess with Prince of
Orange, 234.

William Hogarth, 238.

Victories of Admiral Vernon, 240, 241.

The unpopular Prime Minister, 241.

Jacobite Rebellion, 243.

Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 244.

Death of the Prince of Wales, 1751, 244.

Taking of Quebec, 244.

Marriage of George iv., 246.

Lord Howe's victory, 247.

Trial of Warren Hastings, 247.

Popular resorts, 256.

Opera, 262.

Lord Hardwicke's New Marriage Act of 1753, 267.

Processes of, 270.
Entertainment fans, 256.
' Entomologist,' 280.
Eugenie, Empress, 57, 279, 280, 2S1.
Euripides, quotation, 29.
' Eventail brise,' 119.
Excise fan, 234.

Fabri, Alex., 147.
Fair fans, 256, 257.

Fairholt, quotation, 178.

Fan and towel or handkerchief bearers, 21.

Fan as decorative motif in design, 76.

Fan as emblem of life, Japan, 20, 60.

Fan-bearer, office of, 16; privileges of, 19; Assyrian,
20, 21; badge of Assyria, 20.

Fan games, 75, 76.

Fan-shops, Paris, 151 ; London, 187.

Fanniere Brothers, 278.

Feast of Lanterns, 46.

Feather-fans, Greek, 29, 30 ; Etruscan, 30 ; Roman,
30, 87 j India, 40 ; China, 46 ; wing-shaped,
47, 57; primitive, 77; eagle, 82; Venetian,
99; France, Charles v., 100; twelfth to six-
teenth centuries, 101 ; white and coloured, 102 ;
France, 144; English, 176; modern, 287, 288,
289, 290; woodcock, 289.

Feather-wands, 84.

Feather-work, 50, 288.

Fell, H. Granville, 296.

Ferrara, or duck's-foot fan, 107.

' Fete de l'Agriculture,' 171.

' Fete de la Federation,' 222.

' Fete on the Piazzetta,' 125.

Feucheres, Jean, 278.

Feure, Georges de, 297.

Fielding, Henry, 256.

Figaro fans, 216.

Filigree, 55, 56, 57. 5s-

Fitzherbert, Mrs., 195.

Flabelliferae, 15, 31, 45.

Flabellum, Egyptian, 16; leek-green, 32; Christian,
87-97 ; early adoption by the Latin Church, 88 ;
symbolism of, 88 ; types of, S9 ; Tournus, 89,
90; handle, French twelfth century, 91, 92;
capital, North German, 92 ; peacock, 94 ; metal,
99 ; cockade, 100.

Flagellum, the mystical vannus, 1 1.

Flag-fans: India, 41, 42, 44; West Africa, 83;
Europe, 97 ; Coptic, 98 ; Venice, 99.

Flamand, Le, 16S.

Fleury, Robert, 275.

Flies, Baal-zebub, lord of the, 22, 23.

Floire, The, 101.

Flory, M. A., 7, note.

Fly-hunter (Jupiter Myiodes), 23 ; Hercules, 23.

Fly whisk or fly-flap, primitive Egyptian, 14; As-
syrian, 22, 25 ; Roman, 28, 31 ; Indian, 38, 39,
44, 45, 62 ; primitive peoples, 84, 85 ; black
horse-hair, 86 ; Abyssinian, S6 ; peacock
feathers, 92 ; palm leaves, 98.

Fol, Walther, 279.

Folding or pleated fans, 28, 52, 53, 57, 58 ; bamboo,
62, 65; war, 70; French, 145; English, 176;
modern, 272.

Forrers, Robert, 98.

304

INDEX

Fortune-telling fans, 254, 255, 256.
Fox-Davies, A. C, no, 111.
Fragonard, 167.
Franklin, Benjamin, 170.
Franks collection, 161, 199.
Freij, Jacobus, 122.
Friederichsy, Baroness, 286.
Fuji san (peerless mountain), 75.

'Galant, Le,' 208.

Gamble, M., 233, 234, 237, 248, 255, 264.

Games of the fan, 75, 76.

Gamier, 278.

Gautier, Theophile, 135.

Gavarni, 278, 279.

Gay, 2.

Genlis, Madame de, Dictionary nf Etiquette, 174.

Gentleman's Magazine, quotation, 182, 183, 186.

'George Washington,' 212.

Germanus, 89.

Germo, Leonardo, 123.

Gerome, 275.

Giant fans, 74.

Gibson, Mrs. Frank \Y\, 132.

Giles, H. A., 52, note, 59, note.

Girardin, Madame de, 278.

Glaize, 275, 278.

Gluck, 216.

Gold Coast, 84.

Gold-handled fans, 102, 103.

Goldoni, The Fan, 6, 7, 126, quotation.

Goncourt, MM. de, 172, quotation.

Gore, Sir Humphrey, 180.

Gosson, Stephen, quotation, 177.

Gotz, Prof. Hermann, 284.

Goupy, 185.

Goya, Francisco, 134.

Granville, Countess, 280.

Grass or rush fans, 77, 79, 83.

Gravelot, 191.

'Great Lottery of 1714,' 190.

Greek Church, 94.

Gregoire, 226.

Gretry, 216.

Grignan, Madame de, 154, 159.

Guido, ' Aurora ' of, 1 23.

Guimet, Musee, 50, 51, 76, note.

Gumbai Uchiwa, 62.

Gun Sen, 62.

Gypsy fans, 254, 255, 256.

105 ; Gold Coast, 84.

Halberd-shaped fans, 42.

Hall, Bishop, 105.

Hammett, Lydia, 293.

Hamon, Jean Louis, 278, 279, 280.

2Q 305

H.S.H. Princess Victor

Han dynasty, sculptures, 21, 26, 49, 58.

Hand-fan : Egyptian plaited, 13 ; Assyrian, 25 ; primi
tive, 77, 78, 79; Egyptian semicircular, 13, 14.

Hand-screen, engraved design for a, by Agostino
Carracci, 105; feather, 105; straw, 196; en-
graved, 204, 217.

Handles at Museums, 14, 30,

' Harlot's Progress,' 238, 239.

Harpe, M. de la, r68, note.

Harvey, John, 180.

Hastings, Warren, trial of, 247.

Hawaiian Islands, 79, 80, 84.

Heart-shaped fans : Greek, 28, 44 ; primitive, 78.

Heere, Lucas de, 178.

Hefner- Altenek, 112.

Heine, Madame Charles, 129.

Hennin collection (Bibliotheque Nationale), 165, 195.

Hervey Islands, 79.

Hi ogi, 62, 64, 69.

Hide-fans, 77, 80, 83.

Hildebert, St., 88.

Hindu theatre, 39, note.

Hiroshige 11., 72.

Hogarth, William, 238.

Hohenlohe-Langenburg,
of, 132.

Hokusai, 69. 72.

Holmes, Randle, 94.

Holt, H. F., ior, note, 203.

Hbrman, Christopher Fredr., 205

Horn, 120, 201.

Horniman Museum, 38, 83.

Hotei, 61, 67, 68.

Hsi-Wang-Mu, fan of, 47-49-

Hughes, John, Tatler, 189, note.

Mr. Talbot, 134-

Humorous fans, 265.

Hunefer, papyrus of, 18.

Hunt, W. Holman, 24, note.

Hussein Dey, 273.

Imperial Museum, Tokyo, 68.

' Impracticable,' 58.

Incrustation, process of, mother of pearl, 119.

India Museum, 38, 39, 44, 51, 86.

Ingres, 275.

Innocent XL, Pope, 232.

Inscription or autograph fans, 58, 59, 68, 69, 285.

Invention of fan : China, 46 ; Japan, 63.

Inventories : St. Riquer, Amiens, La Sainte Cha-
pelle, Ely, Salisbury, St. Paul's, 92 ; Exeter, 92 ;
of pledges, 1303, 95; Comptesse Mahaut
d'Artois, Queen Clemence, Johanne d'Evereux,
Charles v., 100; Queen Elizabeth, 103

Isabella, queen of Edward 11., 93.

HISTORY OF THE FAN

Isabey, 275.

Isis, priest of, 27.

Ivory, Si, 53, ss, 57, 58, 64, 65, 74, 89, 91,
114, 118, 125, 129, 134, 147, 161, 162,
'74. '92, '94, 197. 199, 200, 201, 203,
244. 2 73. 280.

Jacobite Rebellion, 243.

Jacquemart, 275, 278.

Jane of Navarre, 1 96.

Jeaflreson, quotation, 267.

Jewelled fans, 102.

Jews, names of cities of, 22.

Joachim-Gibson, Mrs., 2S6.

Johnston, Mrs. Bruce-, 124, 166.

Joly, Henry L., 73, note.

Josephs, Marie, 125.

Jubinal, Madame Achille, 99, 122, 174.

'Judgment of Paris,' 158, 206.

Juro, 61.

Kaname, or rivet, 60, note.
Kanaoka, 66.
Kano San Raku, 68.
Kapiolani, Queen, 79.
Kasuga Motomitsu, 66.

Takayoski, 68.

Kauffmann, Angelica, 120, 193, 194, 268.

Kells, Book of, 87, 89, 93.

Kendal, Mrs., 287.

Kew Museum, 44.

Khaskhas root, 44.

King, Jessie, 297.

Kingsley, Miss, 84, note.

Klagmann, 278.

Klimsch, Prof. Eugen, 284.

Koyetsu, 69.

Krishna, 44.

Kunisada, 69.

Kuniyoshi, 71.

Kyoto, 69.

Lace mounts, 291.

Lacquer, 53, 54; gold, 55, 75, 76, 156, 157.

La Farge, Raymond, 144.

Lami, Eugene, 275, 278.

' La petite bestiole,' story of, 1 15.

Lancey, Col. de, 195.

Lancret, 144.

Lane, Mr. and Mrs. John, 295.

Language of the fan, 136, 137, 253.

Lanoy, 278.

La Salle, Le Sieur de, 82, 83.

Layard, Nineveh, n, note, 22, 25, note.

Le Brun, Charles, 139, 154, note.

1 °S.
166,
212,

Legends of the fan, 72.

Leicester, Earl of, 102.

Lewis, Mrs. Arthur, 286.

Lilliputian fans, 263.

Linas, Charles de, 30, 97, 98.

Lindsay, Lady, 133, 158.

Lithography, 271.

Liturgic fans, 97.

Loire, Nicholas, 204, 206.

Loti, Pierre, 64.

Louise, H.R.H. Princess, Duchess of Argyll, 198,

277, 282.
Love fans, 262 ; classes of, 262 ; courting fan

mounts, 263.
Lovers' Agency Bureau, 155.

MahabhArata, 33.

Maintenon, Madame de, 158.

Mai ogi, 62.

Makart, Hans, 283.

Making of a fan, number of persons employed, 121.

Malay Kris, 5S.

' Malbrouk,' 207, 208, 211, 213.

Mantz, Paul, 143, 160, note.

' Marat ' fans, 225-226.

Marcel, Gabriel, 131.

Margaret, Queen, 102.

Maria Theresa of Spain, 154, 162, 163.

Marie-Antoinette, 117, 132, 159, 166, 167, 168, 169,

213, 225.
Marquesas, 79.

Marriage fans of Charles 11., 180.
' Marriage of Cupid and Psyche,' 123.
' Marriage of Louis xiv. and Maria Theresa,' 154.
' Marriage of Napoleon with Marie Louise,' 229.
Marston, Satires, 10 1.
Martial, quotation, 28, 31.
Martin, Julian, 156.

Robert, 156.

Simon-Etienne, 156.

William, 156.

Mary, H.R.H. Princess, 292.

Queen, 102.

Masanobu, 67.

Kiato, 69.

Matabei, 73, 85.

Mathilde, Princess, 281.

Meehan, Famous Houses of Bath, quotation, 261.

Medallion fan after Cosway, 195.

Medicis, Catherine de', 144.

Meir, Rabbi Joseph Ben, 24.

Melville, Lewis, quotation, 259, 260.

Mmagiana, quotation, 173.

Mercure de France, quotation, 149, 157.

Meredith, George, Harry Richmond, 4, 5.

306

INDEX

Mesangere, M. de la, 105.

Messel, L. C. R., 71, 105, 114, 115, 153, 175, 187,
202, 288.

Meyer, M., 119, 277.

Mica, 78, 113, 114.

'Midnight Modern Conversation, 1733,' 239.

Mignard, Pierre, Le Romain, 140.

Ming dynasty, 54.

Mirabeau fans, 223.

Mita ogi, 73.

Modern and present-day fans, 74, 272 ; decline of
the fan industry and its causes, 272, 276; con-
quest of Algeria by the French, 273 ; production
in 1847 ar>d '848 compared, 276; machinery,
277; brise', 275; exhibitions, 282, 283; auto-
graph and inscription, 285 ; revival of ostrich
feather, 287 ; lace mounts, 291.

Montague, Mrs., 189, 288.

Monza, 95-97.

Moral reflections of a female reformer, 250.

More, Sir Thomas, anecdote, 9, note.

Moreau, Edouard, 290.

Morley, Henry, 236, 257.

Morrison collection, 73.

Moschus, 88.

Moss, Miss, 119, 166, 191, 198, 208, 273.

Mother of pearl, 53 ; China, 55 ; Japan, 74 ; Queen
Elizabeth, 102; kinds of, 118.

'Motion' fan, 241, 242.

Motonobu, 67.

Mounts, Italian, 122; subjects of, 123; Neapolitan,
124; French, 122,123; English, 179; Dutch, 197.

Mourning-fans, 194, 225, 244.

Mozart, 216.

Miiller, Karl, 278.

Murray, C. Fairfax, 23S.

Musee de Cluny, 91, 114, 146.

de Louvre, 222.

des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 281.

Museo Civico, Venice, 273.

Gregorio, Rome, fan handles, 30.

Nazionale, Florence, 89.

Nai-To, 71.

Nan-ratan, or nine stone, 43.

Napoleon Bonaparte, 228, 229.

' Napoleon shows his Troops the Channel,' 229.

Nardaillac, Comtesse de, 279.

Nash, Beau, 258, 261.

E. Barrington, 276.

Nassau fans, 235, 236, 237, 238.
Neapolitan fans, 124.
Necromantic fans, 254, 255, 256.
Negroni collection, 285.
Nemours, Duchess de, 180.

New Nassau fan, 237.

Nigeria, 82, 83.

Nimroud, 20, 25.

Nitrocris, Queen, 19.

' No ' drama, 63.

Nollekins, 185.

North American Indian fans, 14.

Northcliffe, Lady, 122, 123, 134, 165.

Oblong fans, 50.
Oldroyd, Miss L., 293.
Oliver, Peter, 180.
Olympian games, 23.

Jupiter, 23.

'Oncle' fans, 215.

Onola, Countess, 286.

Opera fans, French, 216, 217 ; English, 262.

Operations of the pleating of the fan, 121.

Orange fan, 237.

Order of the fan, Sweden, 153, note.

Origin of the fan, 1-3.

Osborne, Thomas, 8, 252, 253.

Miss, 187.

Osiris, 15.

Ostrich, 40; folded, 105.
Ottley, Captain J. E., 122.
Ovid, quotation, 32.

Packering, Sir J., 103.

Paciandi, 93, note.

Painted fans of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries —
Italian.— Introduction of the folding-fan into
Europe, 107; excavation at the Chateau de
Pierre, 108; decorative development, 109;
earliest forms, 113; construction, 116; character
of the sticks, 117; ornamentation, 117, 118:
brise fans, 119; double or reversible, 120, 121 ;
mounts, 122, 123; Neapolitan, 124; children's
fans, 125; superiority of the workmen, 126.
Spanish, 127; Italian influence on art, 128;
alliance of the House of Bourbon, 130; Treaty of
Paris, 130; classical revival, 131; character of
the stick, 132, 133; influence of Francisco Goya,
133, 134 ; varieties of, 135 ; language of, 136, 137.
French.— Italian influence on, 138; influences
of Jean Cousin, Francois Clouet, 138; Charles
le Brun, 139; Bernini, Borromini, 140; the
Revolution, 143 ; introduction of Italian feather-
fans, 144 ; folded fans, 145 ; decoupe fans, 146 ;
importance of the industry, 146; constitution
of a corporate body of fanmakers under Louis
xiv., 146; prices obtained in 1753, 147;
painting and its influence during the reign of
Louis xiii., 150; Paris fan-shops, 151; intro-

307

HISTORY OF THE FAN

duction of Spanish fashions, 152; reign of the
Grand Monarque, 154; lacquering, 156, 157,
158; Vernis Martin, 158; classical influence,
163; 'cabriolet' fans, 164; relapse of the
industry, 165 ; Handel and Gluck, 166 ; custom
of presenting wedding fans, 167; influence of
the Directoire and Empire periods, 170; straw
and spangles, 172 ; gauze or net, 172 ; lorgnette
or opera-glass fan, 172 ; reduction in size, 174.
English.— Early use of the folded fan, 176;
plumed fan, 176 ; decoupe, 178 ; gigantic green-
shading fans, 1 79 ; influence of the trade with
India, 179; importation of Italian fan mounts,
179; earliest fans, 180; marriage fans of
Charles 11., 180 ; charter of incorporation
granted by Queen Anne, 181 ; fanmakers' peti-
tion to Parliament demanding prohibition of
importation of fans from India, China, and the
East, 182 ; tax upon wooden- and feather-fans,
182 ; importation of feather-fans forbidden,
182, 184; disputes between Fanmakers' Com-
pany and journeymen, 182 ; extent of the
industry and adverse conditions in the middle
of the eighteenth century, 182; tea-merchants
as dealers in imported fans, 183 ; principal
enactments regulating importations, 184; Lon-
don fan-shops, 187; large fans, 187; selection
of partners at dancing assemblies, 189; influ-
ence of peace between Austria and France, 190;
spangles, 191 ; ivory brise", 194 ; Wedgwood,
194; Napoleonic wars, 195.
Dutch. — Early uses, 197; mounts, 197; histori-
cal or fanciful subjects, 198; influence of
France, Italy, and China on the treatment of
the mount, 198; Flemish, 199; varnish, 200;
ivory brise, 200; horn, 201; small decorated
spangled, 201 ; sticks, 202.
German. — Medallion, 203 ; lace or net, 203 ;
eighteenth century the era of the fan, 203.

Palliser, Mrs. Bury, 291.

Palm fans, 2, 42, 43; lateral, 43, 78: natural 77;
Talipot, 78 ; Palmyra, 78.

Pankha, 40, 41, 45, 78.

Papperitz, Georg, 284.

Parchment fans, 87.

Paris, Madame la Comtesse de, 203.

Parkman, Francis, 83, note.

Pasquier, Etienne, 115, 160.

Pattern fans, Etruscan, 30.

Pausanias, 23, 24, note.

' Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle,' 190.

Peacock: 30, 31, 39; Greek, 29, 30; Roman, 31,
87 ; emblem, 39, 44 ; India, 40 ; quills, 42 ;
China, 46, 47; feathers, 51, 87, 89; Musci-
fugium, 93; plumes of, 101.

Perrot and Chipiez, 22, 24.

Persians, ventilating fan, 25 ; fan crest, 27.

Petit, Edouard, 121, note.

Petrie, Prof. W. M. Flinders, 15.

Pheasant, 46 ; Argus, 54.

Philibert, St., 90.

Philippe le Bel, 196.

Phoenicians, 27.

Phcenix, 51, 56.

Phre, sacred barque of, 15.

' Piazza of St. Mark, Venice,' 125.

Pichard, le Sieur, 144.

Pictorial art, 141.

Piis, Augustin de, 2.

Pinchbeck, Jonathan, 235, 236, 237, 238, 243, 258,

259. 263. 264-

Pique1 work, 117 ; employment of, 119.

Plautus, flabelliferae, 31.

Pleated fans, vide Folded fans.

Pliny, sacrifices of Cyrenians, 23.

Poggi, 192, 193.

Poigey, Dr., 144.

Pollen, Mrs. Hungerford, 195.

'Pompadour' fan, 166.

Pompadour, Marquise de, 122.

Ponsonby, Lady, 124.

Pope, quotation, 174, note, 179.

Popelin, Claudius, 281.

Popular resorts, fans of, 256, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262.

Portraits, fans appearing in : Queen Elizabeth, Anne
of Denmark, Princess Elizabeth, wife of John
Pen, Esq., Sebastian del Piombo, 104; Maria
Giuseppa, Archduchess of Austria ; Maria Car-
dina, Queen of Naples ; Queen Maria Cristina
di Borbone; Queen Maria Louisa, 129.

Portugal, 100, 107.

Poussiegle, Achille, 2S5.

Present-day fans, vide Modern fans.

' Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitzherbert,' 195.

Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.), 34.

(King George iv.), 195.

Printed fans, 269.

Processional fans, Egyptian, 14, 15, 16, 17 ; India, 42.

'Promenade, the,' 159.

Propertius, flabella, 31, 32.

Prouille, Monastery of, 91.

Rama, 39.

Rambert, C, 280.

Rameses XII., temple of, 15.

'Rape of Helen,' 158.

Raphael, 123.

Ratisbon, 35.

Rawlinson, Sir Henry, 22, note.

'Reason for the Motion' 243.

Redgrave, S., 132, note, 150, 200, 276.

308

INDEX

References of the fan in Holy Writ, 10, II, 22.

Registrum Roff, 92, note.

Reiser, Frederic. 174.

Remusat, Abel, 57, note.

Reversible or double fan, 120, 121.

Rheims, 93.

Riant, Madame, 158.

Richelieu, Due de, 149.

Riegl, Alois, 25.

Riester, 278.

Rikiu ogi, 73.

Riley, Henry Thomas, 95, note.

' Rinaldo in the Garden of Armida,' 166, 199.

Robespierre, 226.

Robinson, Sir John, 180.

Sarah, 180.

Rodney, Admiral, 245.

Roll-up fans, 74.

Romanelli, F., 122.

Rondot, Natalis, 49, 52, note, 53, 272, 273, 275, 277.

Roqueplan, Camille, 278.

Rosenberg, G. J., 99, 122, 154, r58, 284, 291.

Rothschild, Leopold de, 159, 273.

Baroness Meyer de, 192.

— — Baroness Salomon de, 43.
Rouen, 93.
Rousseau, 227.

Philippe, 278.

Royal Family, fans of, 245, 246, 247.

Rubens, 197.

Rush or grass fans, 77, 79, 83.

Ruspae, Bishop of, 98.

Rutlinger, J., 104.

Rutz, Gaspar, 8, note.

'St. Peter's, Rome,' r25.

Sala, George Augustus, 2, 190, 298.

Salting collection, 91, 105.

Salwey, Mrs., 65, note, 73, 74, note, 76, note.

Sanchi, Tope, 34.

Sandalwood, 53, 55, 57, 58-

Sandwich Islands, 79.

' Sans Gene,' 172.

Sargent, 215.

Sayiban, or sun-fan, 36, note.

Scaliger, 24.

Scented wood, 128.

Schonleber, Prof. Gustav, 284.

Schools of Japanese painting, 65, 66, 67.

Schreiber collection, British Museum, 6; 'Aurora'
of Guido, 123; 'Carrousel at Madrid,' 129;
Surrender of Minorca, 1782, 133; 'Grand
Monarque,' 154, 155; Tea-merchant's trade
card, 183; Goupy's fan mount, 185; Lionel
Cust's letter, 193; Loire's ' Desseins de grands

Eventails,' 206 ; ' Biaggini's Air Balloon,' 214;
Figaro fans, 216; 'Due d'Orleans as Sponsor,'
218; 'Nicaragua Canal,' 230; 'Harlot's Pro-
gress,' 239; 'Admiral Rodney,' 245; Royal
visit to Royal Academy, 246 ; ' Marriage of
Prince of Wales ' (George iv.), 247 ; opera fan,
262 ; widowhood, 268 ; ' Ascent of Mont
Blanc,' 276 ; Madame Bisschop's fan, 281.

Schreiber, Lady Charlotte, 193, 205, 244, 259, 268,
2Sr.

Screens, pear-shaped, 48, 61 ; white jade, 50 ; hand,
5°, 51, 75 5 straw hand, 195; engraved hand,
204, 217; circular, 50, 51, S3, 61, 69; cockade,
51; ceremonial banner, 51, 61; rigid, 6r, 62,
69, 127; silk, 61; palm, 75; large round, 127,
Chinese feather, 288 ; Queen Anne, 288.

Seliger, Max, 284.

Senefelder, Aloys, 271.

Sen-no Rikiu, 74.

Septvans, Sir Robert de, arms of, 11.

Seraphim, 88.

Sesata, Cingalese, 37.

Sesshiu school, Japan, 62, 65, 66.

Sevigne, Madame de, 154, 159.

Sewell, Colonel, 183.

Shakespeare, quotation, 8, 9, n, note, 19, 101, T76.

Shaku, 64, 65.

'Sheba, Queen of,' fan, r33-

Shunsui, 71.

Silk, 57, 71. 75-

Silver-handled fans, 101, 103.

Skin fans, chicken, 268; asses', 273.

Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities,
12, note; Dictionary of Christian Antiquities,
88, note.

Albert, Ascent of Mont Blanc, 276.

W. Harding, 70.

Solde, A, 277, 288.

Solomon Islands, 79.

Sommerand, Du, 91.

South-Eastern Pacific, 84.

Spanish lady, management of the fan, 4.

Spatula, 80.

Speaking or conversation fan, 253.

Spear-shaped fans, 78.

Spectator, 4, 187, 189.

Spiers, R. Phene, 76.

Stanhope, Lord, 229.

Statutes regulating the fan industry, 146.

Steele, Tatler, 5-6, 179, 1S7.

Stiletto, Italian, 58.

'Storming of the Bastille,' 219, 220, 221.

Stow's Chronicle, 53.
Strange, Sir Robert, 243.

Strickland, Agnes, quotation, 179.
Strogonoff collection, 25.

309

HISTORY OF THE FAN

'Stuart, Athenian,' 185.
Sudan, Western, 84.
Sun goddess, 74.
'Surrender of Malta,' 195.
'Surrender of Minorca ' 133.
Sutherland, Duke of, 195.
Suye hiro ogi (wide end), 63.
'Swanne downe,' 102.
Swift, Dean, 263.
Swinging-fans, 25.
Sydney, Sir Robert, 103.

Tabell/k, Roman, 32, 51.

Tadahira, 65.

Tahiti, 85.

Taira, 69, 72.

Taishin, 74, 75.

Tajima, 8, 69.

Talc, 44.

Tallien, Madame, 171.

Tanagra figures, 29.

Tanjore, 44.

Taoist Genii, 47, 61, 67.

Tasso, Torquato, legendary account of, it 3.

Tatter, John Hughes, 189.

Steele, 5, 6, 179, 187.

Tea ceremony, China, 57 ; Japan, 74.

Tea fans, 74.

Terence (Eunuchus), quotation, 31.

Testament du Louis XVI., 224.

Tete-a-tete fan, 254.

Theodolinda, Queen, 95, 97.

Thiac, M. de, 169.

Thomas, Felix, 24.

Thornbury, Walter, 142.

' Toilette de Madame la Marquise de Montespan,'

159.
Tomkinson, M., 56, 75.
Tonga Islands, 85.
Tooth relic of Buddha, 43, note.
Topical fans, 206.
Topographical fans, 191.
Tortoise-shell, 53, 54, 57, 58, 74, 119, 132.
Tournus, 89, 96, 97.
Trevelyan, Sir W. C, Bart., 85.
Treves, Gospel of, 93.
' Trial of Warren Hastings,' 247.
'Trips to Gretna,' 267.

' Triumph of Alexander ' (after Le Brun), 1 23.
'Triumph of Amphitrite,' 180.
'Triumph of Bacchus,' by A. Carracci, 180.
' Triumph of Mordecai,' 1 23.
Tsunenori, 65.
Tsunetaka, 66.
Turtle-shell, 50.

Ukiyoyk' school, 66.

Ulfeda, 97.

Ulrica, Louisa, 153.

Umbrella, importance and significance of, in the
East, 33-36 ; in Bacchic processions, 36 ; in
early Persian reliefs, 35 ; form-connection be-
tween fan and umbrella 36 ; Cingalese, 36.

Uses of the fan, 3-9, 60.

Uzanne, M., 2, 27, 273, 285.

Vaillant, 278.

Valmiki, 39.

Vandyke, 197.

Van Loon, 197.

Vannus, 10, n.

Varnish, 156, 157.

Vasco da Gama, expeditions of, 107.

Vatican, 93.

Vecellio, 107, 109, 113, 127, 147, 196.

Velasquez, 128.

' Ventosus,' 187.

'Venus and Adonis,' 123.

Vernet, Carl, 227.

Vernet, Horace, 275.

'Vernis Martin,' 125, 168, 161, 200.

Vernon, Admiral, 240, 241.

Vibert, 275.

Victoria and Albert Museum, 47, 74, 83, 91, 112,

196, 281, 282.
Victoria, Queen, 159, 198, 202, 203, 277, 279, 282,

283.
Viollet-le-Duc, M., 108.

Virgil, mystical fan of Bacchus, n ; Eclogues, 91.
Voisin, M., 161.
Voltaire, 156; quotation, 157.
Voorde, Aloys van de, 278.
Vouet, Simon, 139.

Waddell, Dr., 34.

Wagner fans, 2S6.

Wales, H.R.H. Princess of, 166, 289, 290.

H.R.H. Princess Maude of, 292.

Walker, Robert, 155, 181.

Walker sale, 1882, 163, 168, 180, 190, 191, 193,

'95. '99. 244, 259-
Wallace collection, 125.
Walpole, Horace, quotation, 164, 215, 241.

Sir Robert, 233.

War caused by a fan, 273.
War fans, 70, 71, 72.
Water fans, 62, 74.
Watteau, 141, 144, 159.
Wattier, 278, 280.
Wedding fans, 132, 133, 277.

INDEX

West, M., 193.
West Africa, 83.
West, Benjamin, 123.
Westminster Journal, quotation, 182.
Whyte, Rowland, 103.
Wide end (Suye hiro ogi), 63.
Widowhood fans, 267.
Wilkinson, Sir J. Gardner, n, note.
William iv., 166.
Wilson, G., 265, 266.
Windsor Castle collection, 159.
Winnowing-fan, 10, 11, 13.
Wolfe, General, 244.
Woodcock feather-fan, 289.
Wooden-fans, China, 52.
Wright, Henry Smith, 164.

Wyatt collection, 53, 54. ; Chinese fan, 55 ; filigree
and enamel, 56 ; stick of Italian folding-fan,

117; brise fan, 119; minuet fan, 120; Venus
and Adonis, 123; Neapolitan fan, 124; Queen
of Sheba, 133; marriage of the Dauphin with
Marie-Antoinette, 167: paper mount, 190;
mourning-fan, 194; Cosway's medallion fan,
195; Dutch mounts, 198, 199; Dutch ivory
brise fan, 200 ; skin fan, 268 ; French painted
medallion, 269.
Wyatt, Sir M. Digby, 140, 298.

Yak, 32.

Yamato-Tosa school, 76.
Yonge, Charlotte, fan of, 273.
Yoshitsune, 72.

Zimmern, Helen, 8, note.
Zucharo, F., 104.

311

EDINBURGH

T. and A. CONSTABLE

Printers to His Majesty

3&&£23s

•■■•.•■>::.

szmm

•V. v>

■.-'•"■••■

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "History of the fan"

See other formats