The design is really simple, just carved bone and a plain silk leaf, so I guess there's not much to say about it... except that this is my first ”real” 18th-century fan, dating from the 1790s or somewhere around 1800 and found on eBay some years ago. It surely was very pretty before it started to fall into pieces. I really like the cream and silver colour scheme.
The leaf, made of very, very fine silk, is incredibly thin. Even though it's double it's much thinner than modern paper. As you can see it is falling apart and some pieces are missing. One stick is missing as well and one is damaged.
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| This carved design was quite common during this period, my latest find has a similar pattern. |
I have been wondering for some time if it would be worth the bother to have it repaired, and I honestly doubt it. Fans are generally sold for their spare parts at this stage of decay. The thought of stripping the sticks and making a nice new leaf is tempting, but I won't yield to that temptation... for now at least.
