Hand Screen or Fan

Date1835-1855

OriginAmerica, Mid-Atlantic or New England

MediumWatercolor on wove paper with wove backing paper, cardboard interleaf, wood handle, brass nails, and lead trim coated with bronze powder

DimensionsLength (with Handle): 16'; Width: 11 3/8; Handle Diameter: 3/4in

Credit LineGift of Anonymous Donors

Object number1979.310.1

DescriptionThis is a non-collapsible hand screen with a handle nailed into the bottom edge of the screen proper, which is an elaborate cutout C-scroll shape. The screen is decorated with watercolor designs on paper glued over a cardboard support; the pictorial elements consists of a basket of plums in the center, with a chain of flowers and foliage following the curve of the the upper edge of the screen. The perimeter of the leaf is edged in a bronze-coated, lead trim.
Label TextThe pictorial elements on this hand screen are reminiscent of those created with stencils but were executed freehand. Such screens illustrate leisure pursuits deemed fashionable and appropriate for young women during the mid-nineteenth century.