HISTORY OF THE FAN
_This edition is limited to 450 copies for sale in Europe and the
British Dominions, of which this is No. 93._
[Illustration: Rinaldo in the garden of Armida, Louis XV. skin mount,
stick mother of pearl, guards jewelled, given by King William IV to
Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge & left by her to her grand-daughter
Victoria Mary.
H.R.H. the Princess of Wales.]
HISTORY 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 TREATMENT
OF DRAPERY IN ART’; ‘STUDIES IN PLANT FORM’;
‘CHATS ON COSTUME,’ ETC.; JOINT AUTHOR OF
‘STAFFORDSHIRE POTS AND POTTERS’;
‘BRITISH POTTERY MARKS’
[Illustration]
LONDON
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO. LTD.
DRYDEN HOUSE, GERRARD STREET, W.
1910
Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty
DEDICATED
(BY GRACIOUS PERMISSION)
TO
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 Tamagawa River_, is by the
GROUT ENGRAVING COMPANY.
The lithograph of _Bacchus and Ariadne_ is by Messrs. MARTIN, HOOD AND
LARKIN.
PREFACE
[Illustration]
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 Éventails_, published in 1875, is but sparsely
illustrated, and is mainly based upon the researches of M. Natalis
Rondot, whose _Rapport sur les objets de Parure_ 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
Fächer_, 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 disadvantage. 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
crucifères, le Flabellum, et l’Umbella,’ in _La Revue de l’Art
Chrétien_, 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 _Fraser’s Magazine_
for May 1879; articles in 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. Phené
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. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD.
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE ix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
CHAPTER I
THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN 1
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 87
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
CHAPTER VIII
PAINTED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES (ENGLISH, DUTCH, FLEMISH, AND GERMAN) 176
CHAPTER IX
ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES. PART I. 204
CHAPTER X
ENGRAVED FANS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES. PART II. 232
CHAPTER XI
MODERN AND PRESENT-DAY FANS 272
INDEX 301
[Illustration: PEACOCK-FEATHER FAN.
(From a Japanese Painting. British Museum.)]
[Illustration]
ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOUR
1. RINALDO IN THE GARDEN OF ARMIDA. LOUIS XV. H.R.H.
THE PRINCESS OF WALES _Frontispiece_
TO FACE PAGE
2. A CONCERT. DUTCH. H.R.H. PRINCESS LOUISE, DUCHESS
OF ARGYLL 1
3. LA DANSE, AFTER LANCRET. DR. LAW ADAM 8
4. SEA NYMPHS. ITALIAN. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS, M.P. 27
5. THE RAPE OF HELEN. ‘VERNIS MARTIN.’ LADY LINDSAY 30
6. CHINESE FAN. FILIGREE AND ENAMEL. MR. M. TOMKINSON 46
7. CHINESE FAN. RED LACQUER. MISS MOSS 53
8. HOTEI AND THE CHILDREN. By KANŌ-SHŌ-YEI, 1591. MR. WILSON
CREWDSON. 67
9. THE TAMAGAWA RIVER. By KANŌ SAN RAKU. MR. WILSON CREWDSON 68
10. CUT VELLUM FAN. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 107
11. FAN MOUNT. BACCHUS AND ARIADNE.
MRS. BRUCE-JOHNSTON Between pages 122 and 123
12. PIAZZA OF ST. MARK. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS, M.P. 125
13. SPANISH FAN PAINTED IN THE CHINESE TASTE. LADY LINDSAY 127
14. PASTORELLE. SPANISH. H.S.H. PRINCESS VICTOR
OF HOHENLOHE-LANGENBURG 132
15. BULL FIGHTS. SPANISH. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 134
16. PASTORELLE. LOUIS XV. WYATT COLLECTION, VICTORIA
AND ALBERT MUSEUM 138
17. MOMENS MUSICALS. ‘VERNIS MARTIN.’ MR. LEOPOLD
DE ROTHSCHILD, C.V.O. 142
18. THE RAPE OF HELEN. ‘VERNIS MARTIN.’ LADY NORTHCLIFFE 158
19. DIDO AND ÆNEAS. MRS. BISCHOFFSHEIM. Facing reverse of same Fan
between pages 162 and 163
20. ‘CABRIOLET’ FAN. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 164
21. DIRECTOIRE AND EMPIRE FANS. MISS ETHEL TRAVERS BIRDWOOD, AND
MR. L. C. R. MESSEL, FACING ‘SANS GÊNE’
AND EMPIRE FANS between pages 170 and 171
22. TELEMACHUS AND CALYPSO. THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS OF BRISTOL 176
23. WEDDING FAN. Directoire. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 188
24. WEDDING FAN. H.R.H. PRINCESS HENRY OF BATTENBERG 272
25. LE CERF DE ST. HUBERT. BY ROSA BONHEUR. M. GEORGES CAIN 280
26. THE RED FAN. CONVERSATIONS GALANTES. BY CHARLES CONDER.
MR. JOHN LANE 294
27. THE BLUE FAN. BY FRANK BRANGWYN, A.R.A. 296
ILLUSTRATIONS IN HALF-TONE
28. LE BAL D’AMOURS. H.R.H. PRINCESS LOUISE, DUCHESS OF ARGYLL 2
29. HOMMAGES OFFERED TO MADAME DE POMPADOUR. MRS. BRUCE-JOHNSTON 6
30. EGYPTIAN FAN HANDLES. BRITISH MUSEUM 14
31. TERRA-COTTA STATUETTES ” 28
32. AN EASTERN POTENTATE TAKING TEA. MRS. HUNGERFORD POLLEN 33
33. INDIAN FLY-WHISKS AND PEACOCK EMBLEM OF ROYALTY. INDIA MUSEUM 38
34. LARGE HAND-FAN OF SANDALWOOD. MRS. HUNGERFORD POLLEN 41
35. FLAG AND PALM-LEAF FANS. INDIA MUSEUM 42
36. CHINESE FAN. FILIGREE AND ENAMEL. VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 48
37. HAND-SCREEN, FRONT AND REVERSE. MR. WILSON CREWDSON 50
38. LACQUERED FAN. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 54
CARVED IVORY FAN WITH THE NAME ANGELA. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS,
M.P. 54
39. CHINESE FAN WITH IVORY MINIATURES. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS, M.P. 56
40. CHINESE FEATHER-FAN (ARGUS PHEASANT) WITH CASE. VICTORIA AND
ALBERT MUSEUM 59
41. NETSUKI (DAI TENGU). MR. W. L. BEHRENS 60
CAMP-FAN OF EAGLE FEATHERS. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 60
DAGGER-FAN. MR. W. L. BEHRENS 60
42. SUYE HIRO OGI (Wide End) Open and Closed. MR. W. HARDING SMITH 63
43. AKOMÉ OGI (COURT-FAN). MR. WILSON CREWDSON 64
WAR FAN (GUN SEN). MR. W. HARDING SMITH 64
44. FOUR WAR FANS (GUMBAI UCHIWA). MR. L. C. R. MESSEL,
MR. W. HARDING SMITH, MR. W. L. BEHRENS 69
45. WAR FANS (GUN SEN). MR. L. C. R. MESSEL AND
MR. W. HARDING SMITH 72
46. MODERN JAPANESE FANS. IVORY WITH GILT LACQUER AND PAINTED
FAN SIGNED ‘KUNIHISA.’ MR. M. TOMKINSON 74
47. THREE CHŪKEI. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 76
48. PALM-LEAF AND HIDE FANS. BRITISH MUSEUM 77
49. PALM FANS, COCKADE INSCRIPTION FAN, FLY-WHISKS (TAHITI), AND
NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN FAN. BRITISH MUSEUM 82
50. THE TOURNAMENT. BY A. MOREAU. VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 87
51. FLABELLUM OF TOURNUS. MUSEO NAZIONALE, FLORENCE Facing each other
52. ” ” ” DETAILS between pages 90 and 91
53. IVORY FAN AND FLABELLA HANDLES. BRITISH MUSEUM AND VICTORIA AND
ALBERT MUSEUM 92
54. FAN OF QUEEN THEODOLINDA. CATHEDRAL OF MONZA 96
55. COPTIC FLAG-FANS. KÖNIGL. MUSEUM, BERLIN 98
56. QUEEN ANNE FEATHER-SCREEN. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 102
57. DÉCOUPÉ FAN. MUSÉE DE CLUNY 109
58. FAN OF MICA. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 110
59. VENUS AND ADONIS. BY LEONARDO GERMO. WYATT COLLECTION,
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 114
60. AN EMBARCATION. MRS. HAMILTON SMYTHE 116
CUPID’S HIVE. THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS OF BRISTOL 116
61. THE TRIUMPH OF BACCHUS. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 118
BACCHUS AND ARIADNE. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 118
62. THE MARRIAGE OF CUPID AND PSYCHE. MR. FRANK FALKNER 121
63. A SACRIFICE. MRS. BRUCE-JOHNSTON.
Facing the Colour Plate of Bacchus and Ariadne
Between pages 122 and 123
64. RINALDO IN THE GARDEN OF ARMIDA. MISS MOSS 129
CAPTURE OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 129
65. BETROTHAL OF LOUIS XVI. WITH MARIE-ANTOINETTE. MRS. FRANK W.
GIBSON (EUGÉNIE JOACHIM) 130
66. SPANGLED FAN. Spanish. MR. TALBOT HUGHES 136
FÊTE DE L’AGRICULTURE, 1798. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 136
67. LA DANSE, AND PASTORELLE. DUCHESS OF PORTLAND 141
68. PASTORELLE, AFTER LANCRET. H.R.H. PRINCESS LOUISE,
DUCHESS OF ARGYLL 144
69. ACTÆON FAN. MUSÉE DE CLUNY 146
70. CEPHALUS AND AURORA. MRS. BISCHOFFSHEIM 148
VERNIS MARTIN. MRS. F. R. PALMER 148
71. A PASTORELLE, WITH TWO PORTRAIT MEDALLIONS. WYATT COLLECTION,
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 150
72. THE PARTING OF HELEN AND ANDROMACHE. THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS
OF BRISTOL 153
73. BATTOIR FAN. THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS OF BRISTOL 154
74. FÊTE CHAMPÊTRE. ‘VERNIS MARTIN.’ WYATT COLLECTION,
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 156
75. BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST. METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, NEW YORK 160
76. BUILDING OF THE PLACE LOUIS XV. THE DOWAGER MARCHIONESS
OF BRISTOL 162
77. DIDO AND ÆNEAS. REVERSE. MRS. BISCHOFFSHEIM. Facing the Colour
Plate of same Fan Between pages 162 and 163
78. ‘CABRIOLET’ FAN. THE DOWAGER
MARCHIONESS OF BRISTOL } Facing each other
79. ”” ”” ”” ”” } between pages 164 and 165
80. WEDDING FAN. THE COUNTESS OF BRADFORD } Facing each other
81. ” ” LADY LINDSAY } between pages 166 and 167
82. STICK OF MARIE-ANTOINETTE FAN. MUSÉE DU LOUVRE 169
83. SANS GÊNE AND EMPIRE FANS. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL. Facing Colour
Plate of Directoire and Sans Gêne Fans Between pages 170 and 171
84. ‘LORGNETTE’ FANS. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 173
85. SPANGLED GAUZE FANS. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 175
86. A LONDON FAN SHOP. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 178
THE SURRENDER OF MALTA. MRS. HUNGERFORD POLLEN 178
87. FÊTES ON THE OCCASION OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE DAUPHIN. WYATT
COLLECTION, VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 180
ENGLISH FAN. THE VISIT. COLLECTION OF BARONESS MEYER
DE ROTHSCHILD 180
88. ENGLISH FAN WITH MEDALLIONS AFTER COSWAY. WYATT COLLECTION,
VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM 182
89. IVORY EMPIRE FAN. LADY NORTHCLIFFE 184
SPANGLED FAN WITH PAINTED MEDALLIONS. MRS. FRANK W. GIBSON 184
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 } Facing each other
93. AN EMBARCATION. DUTCH. M. J. DUVELLEROY} between pages 192 and 193
94. DUTCH FAN WITH HEAD ON STICK. SIR L. ALMA-TADEMA, O.M., R.A. 194
95. AN OFFERING TO CERES. H.R.H. PRINCESS LOUISE,
DUCHESS OF ARGYLL 196
96. DUTCH FAN (DÉCOUPÉ). MRS. DAVIES-GILBERT 198
DUTCH FAN WITH ‘PAGODA’ STICK. MR. L. C. R. MESSEL 198
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 200
98. GERMAN FAN. GIVEN BY H.R.H. THE PRINCE CONSORT TO
QUEEN VICTORIA 200
” ” LANDESGEWERBE MUSEUM, STUTTGART 200
99. TWO GERMAN FANS. KUNSTGEWERBE MUSEUM, BERLIN 202
100. ENGRAVED HAND-SCREEN. A. CARRACCI. SCHREIBER COLLECTION,
BRITISH MUSEUM 204
” ” ” C. F. HÖRMAN. ”” ”” 204
101. FÊTE ON THE ARNO, ‘ÉVENTAIL DE CALLOT.’ BRITISH MUSEUM 206
102. GROTESQUE FAN, STYLE OF CALLOT. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE,
PARIS 208
103. THE FOUR AGES. ABRAHAM BOSSE 210
104. TITLE-PAGE. Nicholas LOIRE. SCHREIBER COLLECTION,
BRITISH MUSEUM 212
LA COQUETTE. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, PARIS 212
105. TAKING OF THE BASTILLE. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 214
DUC D’ORLEANS. MISS MOSS 214
106. ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE-TRADE. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, PARIS 222
‘CABRIOLET’ FAN. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 222
107. NAPOLEON SHOWS HIS TROOPS THE CHANNEL. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE,
PARIS 224
108. PROJECTED INVASION OF ENGLAND, 1803. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE,
PARIS 226
109. MARRIAGE OF NAPOLEON. BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE, PARIS 228
ADVENTURE IN RUSSIA. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 228
110. A NEW GAME OF PIQUET. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 232
111. THE MOTION. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 236
THE NEW NASSAU FAN. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 236
112. THE HARLOT’S PROGRESS. MR. C. FAIRFAX MURRAY 238
113. VISIT OF GEORGE III. TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY. MR. F. PERIGAL 246
114. MR. THOMAS OSBORNE’S DUCK-HUNTING. SCHREIBER COLLECTION,
BRITISH MUSEUM 252
115. THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS, M.P. 258
THE PARADES OF BATH. MR. W. BURDETT-COUTTS, M.P. 258
116. A TRIP TO GRETNA. SCHREIBER COLLECTION, BRITISH MUSEUM 264
‘BARTOLOZZI’ FAN. MRS. FRANK W. GIBSON (EUGÉNIE JOACHIM) 264
117. MISS CHARLOTTE YONGE’S FAN. MISS MOSS 274
FAN OF ASSES’ SKIN. MISS MOSS 274
118. PAINTED IVORY BRISÉ FAN. MR. LEOPOLD DE ROTHSCHILD, C.V.O. 276
PORTUGUESE FAN. MR. J. H. ETHERINGTON-SMITH 276
119. LACE MOUNT. YOUGHAL CO-OPERATIVE LACE SOCIETY 278
AN ENTOMOLOGIST. COUNTESS GRANVILLE 278
120. COCKS AND HENS. CLAUDIUS POPELIN. MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS,
PARIS 282
121. AUTOGRAPH FAN. SIR LAWRENCE ALMA-TADEMA, O.M., R.A. 284
” ” JAPANESE. MR. FRANK BRANGWYN, A.R.A. 284
122. LACE FAN PRESENTED TO QUEEN ALEXANDRA FOR USE AT CORONATION.
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN 286
123. FEATHER-FAN. H.R.H. THE PRINCESS OF WALES 289
124. THE MEET. BY CHARLES DETAILLE. M. J, DUVELLEROY 290
125. LACE FAN. BY ALEXANDRE. VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM } To face each
} other between
126. LACE FAN. M. J. DUVELLEROY } pages
} 292 and 294
127. DESIGN FOR FAN. BY FRANK BRANGWYN, A.R.A. 298
A GARLAND OF CHILDREN. BY G. WOOLLISCROFT RHEAD 298
ILLUSTRATIONS IN LINE
PAGE
Feather-fan, Nimroud ix
Peacock-feather Fan xii
Head-piece xiii
Initial—Boy with Fan 1
Tea-fan 9
Initial—Vulture with Emblem of Protection 10
Fire-fan, Colombia 12
Portuguese ‘Abano’ 12
Plaited Hand-fan, Egyptian 13
Hand-fan, Egyptian 13
Hand-fan, Egyptian 14
Fly-whisk, Egyptian 14
Ceremonial Fans—from Rosellini 15
” ” 16
Investiture of the Office of Fan-bearer 17
Umbrella or Canopy of Chariot of Rameses III. 19
Initial—Assyrian Fly-whisk 20
Assyrian and Persian Fly-whisks 21
Covers of Fly-whisks 21
Tail-piece—from an Assyrian relief 26
Initial—Greek Girl with Fan 27
Greek Fans 28
Greek Girl with Fan 30
Tail-piece—Girl with Fan 32
Initial—from printed Cotton Hanging, India 33
Cingalese Sēsata 37
Fly-whisk—from an illumination 38
” from a painting on talc, Madras 38
Emblem of Royalty 39
Royal Standards 40
Hand-fan 41
Plaited-Grass Fan 41
Flag-fan 41
Talapat Fan and Pankhás 42
Burmese Fan of Gold 43
Portion of Embroidered Muslin (Chamba,
Nineteenth Century) 44
Fly-whisk used by Jains 45
Circular Fan, ‘Like the Moon’ 46
Fan of Hsi Wang Mu (Japanese Painting,
British Museum) 47
Fan of Ming Dynasty (Painting, British Museum) 47
White Plumed Fan of Hsi Wang Mu 48
Two Pear-shaped Screens 49
Initial—Japanese 60
Feather-fan, Japanese Painting 61
Hand-screen, ” ” 61
Fly-whisk, Upper Nile 77
Plaited Fans, South Pacific Islands 79
Plaited Fans, Hawaiian 80
Various Fans, Samoa 81
” British Guiana 81
” Ecuador and Peru 81
” South-Eastern Pacific 81
Flag-fan, West Africa 83
Fly-whisk, Andaman Islands 85
” Tahiti 85
” Matabele 86
” East African 86
Angel with Flabellum 87
Processional Flabellum 88
Coptic Flabellum 89
Flabellum, from Greek Psalter 93
” from Goar 94
” Monza 96
Flag-fan, from Vatican (a glass vase) 98
Banner-fan, from ivory diptich 99
Ghost-fan, Malay Archipelago 106
Fan of Ferrara, or Duck’s-foot 107
Fragments of Fan from Château de Pierre 109
Small Rigid Fans, 1590 109
Feather-fan, Milan 110
Diagram of parts of Folding-fan 116
Rigid Screen of Bologna, 1590 127
Fan of Rice-straw, Fifteenth Century 138
Dimensions of Fans, 1550-1780 148
Japanese Lady’s Court-fan 175
Long-handled Feather-fan 176
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
[Illustration: A Concert. Dutch, 1720-30, given by the Duke of Cobury
to Princess Victoria (afterwards Queen) in 1836, from the collection of
Fans at Gotha.
H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.]
CHAPTER I
THE ORIGIN AND USES OF THE FAN
In 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 consideration, 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
‘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.’[1]
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_.’
[Illustration: Le Bal d’Amours, by A. Soldé, reverse, a group of
cupids. stick mother of pearl. From Queen Victoria’s collection.
H.R.H. Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll.]
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
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 _Œuvres
Philosophiques_, discovers a hundred such:—‘It is so charming, so
convenient, 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 chère 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 manœuvres de la galanterie, sont cachées dans les
plis de son éventail. Les audaces furtifs du regard, les aventures
de la parole, les aveux risqués, les demi-mots proférés du bout des
lèvres, tout cela est dissimulé par l’éventail, 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. _She signalled_: his eyelids pleaded short sight,
awakening to the apprehension of a pleasant fact; _the fan tapped_, and
he halted his march, leaning scarce perceptibly in her direction. _The
fan showed distress._’[2]
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’ll make you a present of this
inestimable Rarity.’ ‘You see, Madam,’ continued she, upon Virgulta’s
inquiry 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 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.’[3]
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’utilité des éventails,’ ‘la utilidad de los abanicos.’
This use of the fan as shield, is adopted also by the _shinláung_, 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.
[Illustration:
Epoch Louis XV.
Fan Mount—Unfolded.
Hommages offered at the Altar of Madame de Pompadour
by Church and State,—Literature, Art, Music, Etc.
Hommages Offered to Madame de Pompadour.
Mrs Bruce Johnston.]
A story, the source of which is not given,[4] 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.’
‘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.’[5]
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 tapered 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!’[6]
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,’ 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
VIII.) had prodigious fans, as is to be seen in old pictures,[7] 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
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;[8] 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.’[9]
[Illustration: La Danse, after Lancret.
Dr Law Adam]
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 Boissey, author of _Le Babillard_, will not be lost upon
lovers:
‘Deviens le protecteur de ma vive tendresse,
Bel éventail! je te remets mes droits;
Et si quelque rival avait la hardiesse
D’approcher de trop près du sein de ma maîtresse,
Bel éventail: donne-lui sur les doigts!’
[Illustration: TEA FAN.]