Fixed fan

Unknown

1909–10 · wood, silk · Costume Institute

Fans used for advertising were widely used in the late 19th and first part of the 20th century to promote commercial enterprises. This one depicts the interior of the famous Tea Room at The Plaza Hotel at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, a well-known New York landmark where society met to see and be seen. The costume is depicted very accurately. The Tea Room existed in this form until 2005 when the hotel was closed to be renovated into condominiums.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1909–10

Medium

wood, silk

Culture

probably Japanese

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of George Arents in memory of Annie Walter Arents, 1949