A Short History of Decorative Hand Fans

The history of the fan begins in Egypt, three thousand years ago, where early civilisations used palm fronds as a cooling device and a means of threshing grain. This association with the Staff of Life gave status to the fan and it became a religious artefact. When the tomb of Tutankhamun was opened the remains of two beautiful fans were found amongst the treasures.

These early fans were 'fixed' - a wood or ivory handle was widened into a semi-circle into which feathers were secured. Fixed fans possibly arrived in Europe from the Middle East with Crusaders in the twelfth century.

Plunder of South America by the Conquistadores included feather fans, one of which was presented to Queen Isabella of Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1493.

Elizabeth I is seen in several portraits holding this type of fan.

For the invention of the folding fan Japan must take the credit, not Spain. 

There's a nice story attached to the invention of the folding fan.

According to legend, a Japanese animal-lover rescued a bat and was intrigued by the way its large wings could fold into a compact space yet, on expansion, create a vigorous breeze.  This concept was transferred to the folding fan - so they say!  It does make perfect sense.

In the early sixteenth century Portuguese merchants opened up trade routes to the East and imported folding fans into Italy. Their popularity amongst the nobility spread across Europe.

In the eighteenth century the French saw the fan as a work of art. Painted by craftsmen on vellum or silk and with exquisitely embellished ivory, tortoiseshell and mother-of-pearl sticks, French fans were sought-after status symbols and were the most desirable accessory.

The French Revolution saw the decline of the aristocracy, so skilled French artisans found the art of fan-making redundant. These factors contributed to the temporary demise of the elaborately embellished fan.

After the French Revolution fans were smaller, reflecting the linear design of women's dress.

Sometimes even the absence of fans was significant. American women were bereft of French fans when the American Civil War put a stop to imports from France. When the war ended in 1867, the International Exhibition in Paris the following year saw male American visitors accompanied by wives and daughters who packed trunk-loads of fans to take home.

From the 17th century onwards fans were imported in huge numbers from China into Europe by the East India company. In the 1870s, with colonial expansion, British fans increased in size. Ostrich feathers from South Africa and even small stuffed birds, were incorporated into fan design.

Further changes in 19th century included:

The use of the fan as a fashion accessory had never caught on with working class women in the United Kingdom.  Arguably, they never had their hands free...

Events at the beginning of the twentieth century would change the lives of women and these changes would be reflected in the abandonment of the fan as a fashion accessory amongst middle and upper class women.

A number of factors contributed to its demise:

• The Suffragette movement and  the outbreak of the First World War made fans redundant as they were perceived as frivolous.
• Fan collections were sold to raise money for the Red Cross.
• Women's lives altered  radically. Hands that once indulged in the coquettish language of the fan  now had activities associated with work, driving cars and smoking cigarettes!

Today the fan is a useful, practical accessory for women. Only in Spain and the Middle East is it considered normal for both sexes to use it. It is classless, utilitarian yet still strangely provocative.

To learn more about fans and their history why not visit The Fan Museum in Greenwich, south London?

Source:

• Fans by Helene Alexander (Shire      Publications, 2002)