Fan

Art Historical Context

This exquisite 18th-century French fan a gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Mrs. William Randolph Hear in 1963, the opulent decorative arts of the Rococo period. Crafted as a fashionable accessory for both men and women, it reflects the era's emphasis on elegance and leisure, when fans were essential for courtly flirtation, cooling, and subtle social signaling at Versailles and in Parisian salons. The fan's leaf is finely embroidered on silk with shimmering metal threads, gold and silver foil, and of glass, depicting graceful scenes of men, women, and blooming flowers—likely evoking roman...