The history behind the fan, one of the world’s oldest fashion accessories
The fan is one of the world’s oldest fashion accessories. Cleverly combining functional, ceremonial, and decorative uses, this elegant art form has found favor with polite society for over 3,000 years. Using a fan in its simplest form is a way to stay cool, but they’ve also been regarded as status symbols by royalty and the nobility, and still enjoy popularity amongst artists, actors, and celebrities today.
Open up the following gallery and read all about the fantastic history behind this timeless fashion icon.
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Ancient Greece
Pictorial records exist that date some of the earliest fans from around 3000 BCE. This ancient Greek amphora unearthed in Apulia, Italy depicts Eros giving a fan and a mirror to a woman.
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Ancient Egypt
In a tomb in the Valley of the Queens, Amun-her-khepeshef, son of Ramesses II, is seen holding a flabellum. Flabella were used as cooling and ceremonial devices.
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Etruscan civilization
This time-worn Etruscan wall painting decorating the Tomb of the Shields in Tarquinia, Italy dates back to 350 BCE and shows Larth Velcha and his wife, Velia Seitithi, being fanned by a servant. The Etruscans were a civilization of ancient Italy.
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China
A 17th-century portrait of a lady holding a rigid (oval) fan, titled ‘Appreciating Plums’ (and by Chinese artist Chen Hongshou).
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China
According to the Fan Museum in London, Chinese literary sources associate the fan with ancient mythical and historical characters. Pictured is a late 16th-century folding fan mounted as an album leaf, created with ink on gold paper.
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Far East influence
The Chinese and Japanese used rigid fans from a very early date. The folding fan also originates from these two countries. In fact, folding fans brought into Europe by merchant traders from the Far East laid the foundations for the development of the folding fan in the West.
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Liturgical uses
Meanwhile, flabella were being used by the Church in the early Middle Ages as liturgical objects. The sacred fan (example pictured) is still used today. (Photo: Wikimedia/CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Elizabeth I (1533–1603)
Elizabeth I of England helped popularize both rigid and folding fans in the 17th century—a crucial time in the development of the folding fan in Europe.
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Folding fans
By the end of the 17th century, folding fans were held in favor over rigid fans. They were often seen in the hands of royalty and grand ladies.
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Fashion accessory
By the beginning of the 18th century, folding fans were being made throughout Europe. The fan had become the “must-have” fashion accessory, and saw an increase in the variety of subjects depicted on fan leaves. Pictured is a 1784 fan from France celebrating three early ballooning achievements.
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Craftsmanship
While the 18th century saw the development of the printed fan, handmade examples of the highest quality were still in huge demand. The level of craftsmanship was quite astonishing, as this detail of a silk leaf of a Portuguese hand fan featuring embroidery, sequins, and silver-damascened pierced bone guardstick testifies.
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Brisé fans
Small brisé fans made a comeback in the mid-18th century. This wonderful example from Austria features tempera-painted silk decorated with lilies of the valley on perforated and lacquered wood ribs.
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Elaborate decoration
The most elaborate fans date from the second half of the 19th century, and today remain highly collectible antiques. This example from France or Spain features mother-of-pearl.
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Varied designs
This 1870 example from France is made from black Chantilly lace over silk lining on a mother-of-pearl frame.
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Rigid fans
Perhaps to counter the burgeoning popularity of folding fans, designers of some rigid fans took creativity to another level. This Swiss example features Chillon Castle and peacocks, parrots, and flowering peonies printed on an ivory background.
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The fan and art
Sketched 1884, this color print from an ink drawing depicts a hand holding a feathered fan. Many artists who painted fans were often fashionable painters whose work was in high demand.
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Impressive
Many leading Impressionist painters of the day were commissioned to create scenes of fan leaves. Pictured is a 1890 design for a fan called ‘The Pea Stakers’ by Camille Pissarro.
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High society
Fashionable 18th-century high society was often exemplified by ladies and gentlemen using fans, sometimes to flirt with one another.
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Art Nouveau
The turn of the 20th century saw fan designs reflect the fashion trends of the day. The sense of dynamism and movement associated with Art Nouveau found a canvas on many fan leaves, like ‘Woman Raising a Cup’ on this example from 1900. (Photo: Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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A fan of photography
The growing popularity of photography was not lost on fan manufacturers. This example from 1905 is a souvenir fan with pictures of the British royal family: King Edward VII (center), Queen Alexandra (second from right), King George V as Prince of Wales (second from left) and Queen Mary as Princess of Wales (left). Center below: George V and his children.
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Early celebrity status
Celebrities of the day were often photographed with a fan, either as a prop or fashion accessory. Pictured in 1905 is British actress Julia James in an image that is as fresh and contemporary now as it was over 100 years ago.
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The fan as subject matter
In ‘Lady with Fan’ painted by Gustav Klimt circa 1917-1918, the fan becomes an important element of the subject matter.
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Fans of feathers
Around this time, feather hand fans made somewhat of a comeback. Often made from ostrich feathers, they were de rigueur in high society.
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Fans in film
A group of potential suitors, wearing white tie and tails, surround a young woman fanning herself with an ostrich plume in a silent film still.
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Cover up
Paradoxically, at the same time feather fans were finding favor with those of higher social class, enormous ostrich plumed fans became an essential piece of costume for strippers and risqué cabaret dancers, such as those performing at the Moulin Rouge in Paris.
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Art Deco
By the 1920s, fan designs were influenced by the Art Deco style of visual arts. Many fans in use during this period appeared like the one shown in this photograph.
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The fan and flamenco
Did you know that the fan that complements flamenco dance has its origin in the Asian continent around the 7th century?
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Advertising uses
Advertising fans became widespread early on in the 20th century. Simply made with bamboo and a paper covering, the novel publicity technique was employed by department stores like this one in New York City to promote their wares and special offers.
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The biggest fans
While no longer the essential fashion accessory it once was, the fan still has a place in today’s society, not least in the arts. Here’s Madonna performing her single ‘Vogue’ with a group of dancers at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1990.
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The fan and fashion
Within the world of fashion, one individual was rarely seen without a fan—Karl Lagerfeld. This suitably themed fan was custom-made for the late designer in 1995.
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Fantastic!
Well into the 21st century, the fan holds court at some of the most prestigious celebrity events. Pictured is Lupita Nyong’o attending the 2019 Met Gala.
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