Fan
1755-1760 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A very distinctive type of fan emerged in the mid-1750s. It was inspired by the cabriolet carriage, which Josiah Childs invented in 1755. This style featured two or three separate concentric leaves on the sticks, following the shape of the cabriolet carriage wheel. Indeed this cabriolet fan includes an image of the cabriolet carriage in the centre of the top leaf. Most fans of this style showed pastoral scenes of idyllic landscapes and everyday pastimes.
A fan could conveniently cover a lapse in conversation. A French visitor to England in 1720 remarked that ‘the main conversation is the flutter of fans’.
A fan could conveniently cover a lapse in conversation. A French visitor to England in 1720 remarked that ‘the main conversation is the flutter of fans’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gouache on paper, with carved and painted ivory sticks and guards |
| Brief description | Fan, 1755-1760, French or English, painted paper |
| Physical description | Fan with two concentric painted paper leaves, with carved ivory sticks and guards painted with scrolls and flowers. The outer leaf is painted with three scenes, the central scene depicting a couple drinking in a landscape with a cabriolet driving past, the left scene depicting a man bringing a bowl of red fruit to a woman seated in a landscape, and the right scene depicting two women in a landscape. The inner leaf is divided into three landscape scenes, and the backs fo both leaves are painted with similar hazy landscapes. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Admiral Sir Robert and Lady Prendergast |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | A very distinctive type of fan emerged in the mid-1750s. It was inspired by the cabriolet carriage, which Josiah Childs invented in 1755. This style featured two or three separate concentric leaves on the sticks, following the shape of the cabriolet carriage wheel. Indeed this cabriolet fan includes an image of the cabriolet carriage in the centre of the top leaf. Most fans of this style showed pastoral scenes of idyllic landscapes and everyday pastimes. A fan could conveniently cover a lapse in conversation. A French visitor to England in 1720 remarked that ‘the main conversation is the flutter of fans’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.99-1956 |
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| Record created | December 12, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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