1770s, Painted silk with sequins, mother of pearl, cut straw and feathers, ivory sticks

Pleated silk divided on the front by gilt sequins into five panels. The centre one, which is the largest, contains a harvest scene with applied figures in painted mother of pearl and sheaves of corn enriched with cut straw. At the top and sides of the panel are garlands of painted twigs with flowers in applied, painted or dyed straw; similar garlands occur in all five panels. On either side of the centre panel, is a fishing scene with details of the landscape in mother of pearl painted in red, and beyond is a bird with plumage of applied feathers, perched on a branch. The leaf has a blue border all round with silver pattern. The back of the leaf is of silk reinforced with paper over each stick. Four isolated flower sprays are painted in colours, one on the guard and the other three each in a panel. The narrow sticks are of ivory, carved, pierced and gilded with three cartouches, the outer containing vases of flowers, the centre on a man holding a gun and a lady with dead game at her feet. Above and below these cartouches are three roundels containing a pierced diaper pattern. The guards are similarly carved and pierced but have three panels backed with foil. On the front guard the centre panel contains a gentleman in 18th century costume and apparently declaiming. On the back of the fan the centre panel of the guard contains a seated lady in 18th century costume. Brass rivet set with a cut white paste stud.

Presented by Admiral Sir Robert and Lady Prendergast

This is a folding fan. It is made with a pleated, decorated leaf attached to a set of delicate ivory sticks. A fan was an essential accessory in the formal dress of a wealthy woman. Although its original function was to cool the face, the fan soon became an important tool in non-verbal communication. The manner in which a lady held and moved her fan conveyed her feelings toward those around her. The fan is made from a wide range of materials and techniques, from painting to appliqué work, dyeing and drawing. Depicted are a range of images of idealized rural life: figures harvesting corn and fishing are interspersed with colourful images of exotic birds, insects and flowers. Gilt sequins are used as decorative elements to divide the scenes into sections. The fan maker has imaginatively used shiny and coloured materials such as dyed straw, feathers and mother of pearl to give added vibrancy which would no doubt catch the candlelight. It has been suggested that pastoral images often found on fans were visions of escape to the countryside for wealthy people adapted by fan painters from the art and literature popular at the time.

T.112-1956