Hand Screen, Fan

Date1825-1845

MediumTurned wood handle; brass screws; cotton velvet-covered cardboard; paint; gold foil.

DimensionsLength (with Handle): 16 1/4"; Width:11"; Handle Diameter: 1"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1958.403.7,A

DescriptionThis is a non-collapsible fan having a wooden handled nailed into a C-scroll shaped support, the fan portion being cardboard covered with velvet on which decorative designs have been painted. The pictorial elements consist of a basket of fruit in the center, with a chain of flowers and foliage following the upper curve of the C-scroll shape. This fan is similar to a mate, 1958.403.7, B, but has a single pale rose and a single red rose on it. The weave structure of the basket also differs and the edges of the basket are a lighter shade. The perimeter of the fan is edged in gold foil.

Construction History:
1. The leaf of the fan was initially constructed 1825-1845
2. Scarring above the center of the rim of the basket indicates that the hand screens may have originally had a different, longer handle.

Label TextAlthough essentially decorative, hand screens, like fans, could be used to drive off flies, enflame a fire, flirt, or shield the wielder's face from heat or bright light. They were often made in pairs, possibly to encourage hospitable fireside chats and to create a symmetrical arrangement. One author states that a pair of hand screens was considered "an essential part of mantel decoration" during the first half of the nineteenth century.
Like many contemporaneous still life compositions on velvet and paper that were meant to be framed and hung on walls, these hand screens were created with the aid of stencils.
InscribedThe number "318" appears on the back of the fan, apparently a modern inscription.
ProvenanceJ. Stuart Halladay and Herrel George Thomas, Sheffield, Mass. Halladay died in 1951, leaving his interest in their jointly-owned collection to his partner, Thomas. Thomas died in 1957, leaving his estate to his sister, Mrs. Albert N. Petterson, who was AARFAM's vendor.