Fan

Object Type
The fan was probably purchased as a paper leaf in Italy and mounted on the fan sticks in Britain. The ivory sticks are beautifully carved, and the classical urns on the guardsticks are painted in blue enamel and gold paint.

Subject Depicted
The ivory sticks are carved with scenes from Classical mythology. Apollo and Daphne are represented in the central cartouche, with putti in the smaller compartments.

Places
The Grand Tour was a lengthy trip taken around Europe as part of the cultural education of 18th-century British gentlemen. It has some similarity to the 'gap year' many university students take today to travel the world. Paris and Italy were the most important destinations. But along with Florence and Rome, Naples was also a key stop on the Tour. When visiting the city in 1777,Thomas Pelham wrote to his parents about the sites depicted on this fan:

'I was, the other day, on the top of Vesuvius, highly delighted and astonished as you may easily imagine. The volcano was very quiet, no fire visible and little smoke; the different views of Naples, Pozzuoli, Baia, Capri, etc. etc. are charming and in beauty and extent exceed any view I ever saw.'