Fan
1760s (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The image of the lady and the black servant on this fan is in a familiar tradition of representing black people in Britain as servants for white employers, or - in American and Caribbean contexts - as enslaved people. This image is unusual because it appears on a fan. The scene of a black man or boy serving a woman in a garden is reminiscent of Robert Hancock's popular design The Tea Party, which was transfer-printed on ceramics and also appears on an enamel snuff box in the V&A's collection.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Painted kidskin |
| Brief description | Fan, 1760s, British, kidskin painted with a vignette of a white woman and a black servant |
| Physical description | Fan made of kid. Painted on one side with a trompe l'oeil pattern of white lace, blue fabric and pink striped ribbons. There is a painted vignette of a white woman sitting in a garden, attended by a black male servant. She is taking a glass from a tray that he is holding. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Given by Admiral Sir Robert and Lady Prendergast |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The image of the lady and the black servant on this fan is in a familiar tradition of representing black people in Britain as servants for white employers, or - in American and Caribbean contexts - as enslaved people. This image is unusual because it appears on a fan. The scene of a black man or boy serving a woman in a garden is reminiscent of Robert Hancock's popular design The Tea Party, which was transfer-printed on ceramics and also appears on an enamel snuff box in the V&A's collection. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.25-1957 |
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| Record created | October 23, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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