Fan
Unknown Artist
third quarter 18th century
Medium
mother-of-pearl, paper, gouache
Classification
Fan
Culture
probably French
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Orme Wilson, 1954
Accession Number
2009.300.1491
Tags
Art Historical Context
This elegant fan, crafted in the third quarter of the 18th century—likely during the 1770s or 1780s—exemplifies the refined artistry of probably French fan-making, a hallmark of European fashion in the Age of Enlightenment. Fashioned from shimmering mother-of-pearl sticks, delicate paper, and vibrant gouache paints, it served as both a practical accessory for cooling oneself and a subtle tool for social signaling. Mother-of-pearl, prized for its lustrous iridescence, added a touch of opulence, while gouache—an opaque watercolor technique—allowed for rich, detailed imagery on the paper leaf, ca...