Silk Fan and Box thumbnail 1
Silk Fan and Box thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Silk Fan and Box

1850-1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This fan has sticks of gold-painted lacquer and a leaf of paper and silk. Unusually, there is a different painting on each side: on one side there are flowers and birds, while on the other 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. This particular fan was purchased in India, where many of the Chinese ships docked and where there was a ready market for such goods among the British.

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.

  • Fan
  • Fan Case
Materials and techniques
Gold-painted lacquer sticks, with a painted silk and paper leaf and silk tassels; painted lacquer box
Brief description
Assymetrical chinese export silk fan and wooden box, China, 1850-60
Physical description
Folding fan, gold-painted lacquer sticks, with a painted silk and paper leaf and silk tassels; painted lacquer box
Dimensions
  • Open height: 30cm
  • Open width: 44.4cm
  • Open depth: 3.2cm
  • Tassels length: 28cm
Dimensions checked: measured; 12/01/1999 by sf
Style
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.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Miss E. Buckler
Object history
Made in Canton (Guangzhou), China
Summary
Object Type
This fan has sticks of gold-painted lacquer and a leaf of paper and silk. Unusually, there is a different painting on each side: on one side there are flowers and birds, while on the other 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. This particular fan was purchased in India, where many of the Chinese ships docked and where there was a ready market for such goods among the British.

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
T.674&A-1919

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
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