Fan and Box
1850-1868 (made)
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This fan has sticks of gold-painted lacquer and a leaf of paper and silk. On both sides there is a fantasy Chinese garden scene with people among pavilions. The figures have applied faces made of ivory as well as applied silk clothes.
Trading
Fans such as this, made solely for foreign markets, were exported from Canton (Guangzhou) to Europe in tens of thousands, and the more expensive examples would probably have been supplied with their own box. Many of these export artefacts, such as this fan, were decorated with Chinese figurines and gardens to stress their East Asian origin.
Materials & Making
The method of rapid porcelain production in the kiln complex of Jingdezhen set a precedent for the workshops of South China, where artefacts like this fan were produced in huge numbers to the orders of European merchants. The assembly line style of manufacture and the speed of production are clear from the way the tiny ivory faces have been haphazardly applied to the fan, with female faces being in some cases stuck on to male bodies.
Ownership & Use
In Europe, fans were mostly owned by women, but in China both men and women have traditionally used them and continue to do so.
This fan has sticks of gold-painted lacquer and a leaf of paper and silk. On both sides there is a fantasy Chinese garden scene with people among pavilions. The figures have applied faces made of ivory as well as applied silk clothes.
Trading
Fans such as this, made solely for foreign markets, were exported from Canton (Guangzhou) to Europe in tens of thousands, and the more expensive examples would probably have been supplied with their own box. Many of these export artefacts, such as this fan, were decorated with Chinese figurines and gardens to stress their East Asian origin.
Materials & Making
The method of rapid porcelain production in the kiln complex of Jingdezhen set a precedent for the workshops of South China, where artefacts like this fan were produced in huge numbers to the orders of European merchants. The assembly line style of manufacture and the speed of production are clear from the way the tiny ivory faces have been haphazardly applied to the fan, with female faces being in some cases stuck on to male bodies.
Ownership & Use
In Europe, fans were mostly owned by women, but in China both men and women have traditionally used them and continue to do so.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Gold-painted lacquer sticks, with a painted silk and paper leaf and silk tassels; painted lacquer box |
| Brief description | Chinese export silk fan with box, Guangzhou, China, 1850-68 |
| Physical description | Folding fan with sticks of gold-painted lacquer. With figures in silk and ivory on paper. In lacquered case. |
| Styles | |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
This fan and its box are decorated with Chinese garden scenes and people. Although in China fans were used by both men and women, in Europe and America they were mostly owned by fashionable women. In southern China many thousands of fans were made for export. (14/05/2013) |
| Object history | Acquisition method and source not identified in the Asia Department registers, accessioned in 1868. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project. |
| Summary | Object Type This fan has sticks of gold-painted lacquer and a leaf of paper and silk. On both sides there is a fantasy Chinese garden scene with people among pavilions. The figures have applied faces made of ivory as well as applied silk clothes. Trading Fans such as this, made solely for foreign markets, were exported from Canton (Guangzhou) to Europe in tens of thousands, and the more expensive examples would probably have been supplied with their own box. Many of these export artefacts, such as this fan, were decorated with Chinese figurines and gardens to stress their East Asian origin. Materials & Making The method of rapid porcelain production in the kiln complex of Jingdezhen set a precedent for the workshops of South China, where artefacts like this fan were produced in huge numbers to the orders of European merchants. The assembly line style of manufacture and the speed of production are clear from the way the tiny ivory faces have been haphazardly applied to the fan, with female faces being in some cases stuck on to male bodies. Ownership & Use In Europe, fans were mostly owned by women, but in China both men and women have traditionally used them and continue to do so. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 622&A-1868 |
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| Record created | June 25, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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