Fan

What you are looking at

This is a folding fan with an ornate ivory or bone frame and applied paper or vellum leaf. The fan opens to a semicircular span of roughly 10–12 inches. The upper outer surface of the frame is decorated with gilt tooling and inlaid scenes in the Rococo manner: at the top, an oval vignette shows figures—possibly Muses or mythological personages—in a state house or Olympus-like setting, with cherubs and gilt clouds. To either side are smaller gilt-decorated reserves with allegorical or mythological figures. The central leaf is intricately pierced: it shows a radiating starburst of thin ivory or bone sticks, each carved with delicate foliate or palmette motifs and arranged in the classic brisé fan structure. Between the sticks are thin black lacquer or stained strips that create the negative space and define the geometric pattern. The lower case—the bottom of the frame—bears gilt metal ornaments at the pivot. The overall effect is deeply luxurious and labour-intensive: this is an object of aristocratic display, tooled and carved with conspicuous skill and expense. The monochromatic treatment of the pierced leaf (ivory or pale bone against black backing) throws the intricate geometry into sharp relief.

The dancing

The mythological or allegorical scenes on the outer frame show multiple figures—some in flowing drapery, some winged—in attitudes of repose, gesture, and interaction typical of Rococo religious or court painting. Figures recline, gesture expressively, and interact across the composition. The human body is rendered with the elongation and grace characteristic of mid-18th-century academic practice. No active dance postures are evident in the applied scenes; instead, the figures embody statuary grace and mythological narrative.

The dance depicted

This is not a depiction of an active dance, but rather a luxurious object used during the social and courtly rituals—especially balls and promenades—where dance took place. The fan was an essential accessory of aristocratic women in the 17th–18th centuries, used to regulate body temperature, signal romantic or social intent, and display wealth and refinement. Its presence in a gallery of dance in art rests not on depicting dance itself but on being central to the material culture and bodily practice of the social spaces in which dance occurred. The iconography—mythological and allegorical—would have been recognized by the owner and her circle as markers of education, taste, and access to elite culture.

How it was made

The fan is constructed using the brisé technique: a succession of narrow sticks (here carved from ivory or bone) are held in place at the base by a central rivet and decorative metal fitting, allowing them to fan and close. The sticks are pierced and carved with fine foliate motifs; the intervals between them are filled or backed with contrasting material (likely black lacquer, stained vellum, or horn). The outer frame is enriched with gilding and hand-painted or inlaid scenic vignettes in oils or watercolour on vellum or paper. This combination of carved bone/ivory, gilt metalwork, and applied painted scenes was labour-intensive and required the coordinated skills of fan-makers, carvers, gilders, and painters. The technique was well-established by the 1750s–1770s and is characteristic of European luxury production for the aristocratic market.

About this work

This is an 18th-century brisé folding fan with a carved ivory or bone leaf and an ornate gilt frame embellished with Rococo mythological scenes. Although it does not depict active dancing, it is a material artefact central to the lived experience of aristocratic women at balls and court assemblies. The fan was simultaneously a practical object (for cooling and hand occupation), a signal of social rank and education, and a vehicle for displaying artistic accomplishment and wealth. Its presence in a dance history collection reflects the recognition that the spaces, rituals, and material cultures of dance—not merely its visible movements—are subjects worthy of study and preservation.

The work exemplifies the Rococo taste for ornamental refinement, allegorical imagery, and the integration of fine craftsmanship across multiple media. The choice to decorate the fan with scenes of mythological leisure and feminine grace reflects the idealized femininity and aristocratic leisure that dance itself was meant to express and celebrate.

How to look at it

Attend to the contrast between the delicate starburst geometry of the pierced leaf (which displays technical virtuosity in carving and assembly) and the narrative richness of the applied scenes on the outer frame (which display artistic refinement and classical knowledge). The scale of the fan—intimate, held in the hand, yet intricate enough to repay close study—was designed to be examined at a conversational distance. The black-and-ivory colour scheme of the leaf, contrasted with warm gilt accents, creates visual sophistication without ostentation. Notice how the fan's structure mirrors the bodily performance of the woman who holds it: both the object and its user are meant to display controlled elegance, grace under restraint, and the effortless mastery of complex form.

The period

This fan dates to the mid-to-late 18th century, when the brisé fan with applied gilt and painted scenes was at the height of fashion among European aristocracy, particularly in France and England. The Rococo style—with its emphasis on curves, mythological ornament, and the aestheticization of leisure—dominated elite taste. Balls and assemblies were central to aristocratic social life; the fan was an indispensable accessory, often produced in workshops that brought together specialists in bone-carving, gilding, painting, and metalwork. The mythological and allegorical imagery on fans reflected Enlightenment education and the cult of sensibility; women were expected to be cultivated in the arts and to perform a refined, graceful femininity. Dance occupied an analogous position: it was a central marker of aristocratic identity, refinement, and femininity, taught from childhood and practiced at every formal assembly.

Where it lives

The work is held in the collection listed as "Fan" (source code "va"). No further provenance information is recorded in the catalogue.

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