Folding Cabriolet Fan with Multiple Scenes of Performers, Landscapes, and Figures in Courtyard Gardens

Unknown

19th century · Tortoiseshell, paper, silk, and ivory · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Cabriolet fans like this one are distinguished by their multiple leaves, divided by arcs of exposed sticks. Set one above the other, they suggest the spoked wheels of "cabriolet" style horse drawn carriages. This fan is a spectacular example of Chinese work made to appeal to the European market: colorful painted scenes, with applied faces of ivory and real silk clothing, contrast with distinctive, wide, tortoiseshell sticks and guards, further decorated with golden lacquerwork: a procession of figures, floral posies, insects, tassels and masks.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Tortoiseshell, paper, silk, and ivory

Culture

Chinese, for the European Market

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of James A. Aborn, 1948