Fan

Unknown

first quarter 18th century · wood, paper, mother-of-pearl, gouache · Costume Institute

On early 18th-century fan leaves, the design often covered the complete leaf, as shown here. The painting on both the front and back is finely executed, and, unlike many examples, where the back is minimally decorated, the front and the back are equally covered with finely detailed scenes. In early fans the lacquered sticks were Chinese imports but around the end of the first quarter of the 18th century, the Europeans began created lacquered sticks to imitate the Chinese examples. These are probably Chinese imports.

Artist

Unknown

Date

first quarter 18th century

Medium

wood, paper, mother-of-pearl, gouache

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; H. Randolph Lever Fund, 1966