Fan

Unknown

1870–90 · mother-of-pearl, paper, gouache, metal · Costume Institute

The Victorians were adept at making copies of 18th century fans which are sometimes difficult to differentiate from the originals. One of several clues is in the treatment of the hair, which in the origial fans is a powdered gray rather than natural or whiter hues, as illustrated here.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1870–90

Medium

mother-of-pearl, paper, gouache, metal

Culture

probably French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Millicent V. Hearst, 1962