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Collections Fans Fans II Fans III Vechten Mt. Fuji
	11830 - 1840. Europe (probably England.) double paper leaf. bone sticks. folding, pleated fan
	A lithograph hand colored in gouache, the full leaf scene is of a child being escorted across the heavens. Below lie a river and four islands . The colors are as gentle as the leaf's air of regret and loss. Scrolled gold foliage fills the small reserves and top border in a vine/herringbone design. The verso is a small vignette with people. The bone sticks are simply pierced. The lithograph is signed, with a backwards "E" sharing its back with a "P," on the large rock to the right. gl. 10 5/16" (26.6cm) gw. 3/4" (2 cm) op. 20" (49 cm); 165 17/2 accession H.93.157 5HH
	ca. 1830. Europe, probably Italy. paper/vellum double leaf. ivory sticks. folding, pleated fan
	In this Dantesque (Italian equivalent of the Gothic Revival) scene painted in gouche on paper, a young woman dressed in brilliant blue sits and reads a book or letter. Before her stands a man clad in a pale green tunic with a lace collar and an orange cape. He clasps a plumed black hat to his heart and reaches towards the woman with his left hand. His position, the color of her dress, the presence of the dog by her feet, and the three arches looking onto a verdant, landscaped garden and fountains are all elements replete with courting symbolism. The verso, made of vellum, presents a small, stylized floral spray, painted in gold. Scrolled lines and dots, also in gold, border the edges. The sticks are of ivory, shaped, carved, and pierced with five escutcheons -- two with trophies and three with stylized flowers. The gilt metal guards, with rounded shoulders, have openwork and are stamped to imitate granulation. The openwork is backed with red paper. (T.D.) gl. 6 1/2" (15.5 cm) gw 1/2" (1 cm) op 9 1/2" (24 cm); 160 13/2 mother-of-pearl button, barrel rivet Kammerl cat #108; Saanen p. 41, fig. 18 (stick shape).7. accession H.93.3 9XX
	1898. Munich, Germany. wood brisé
	Presenting reproductions of works by Munich school artists, this "picture fan [was] made to celebrate the inauguration of a pension scheme for German journalists in Munich in 1899." (Boehn, plate no.111). (T.D.) Because some of the signatures lie too close to the rivet or under the ribbon, not all are decipherable: 1. woman Vicyky (?) 2. child Marion Koulbal 3. cow W. Brait . . . 97 4. woman G. Mu . . . 5. monk Ed. Gri . . . 6. boat . . . 7. woman Franz. Stuck 1898 8. man in hat Vepregye (?) 98 9. woman T. Uhde 98 10. horseback F. Roubaud 11. woman with boa Haborman(a) 98 12. soldier M. Willhorse The verso has embossed leather on the sticks. gl. 12 1/2" (33cm) gw. 2 3/4" (6.95 cm) op. 24" (60 cm); 180 12/2 Bennet, Fans, cat. #64; Boehm plate no. 111; Lipps-Kant cat. #53. accession H.96.148 12BB
	late 19th c. Europe. ivory sticks. replica Vernis Martin brisé
	Sometime around 1720, a family named Martin operated their business in Paris. They gained such renown for their skill in painting items lightly in oil, then protecting them with a colorless varnish, that the eldest brother became styled as "Vernisseur du roi." After his death in 1749, his widow and one of his brothers continued the business for perhaps ten more years. The general layout of the Vernis Martin brisés remained unchanged: the artists used different designs or different colors to create the illusion that the upper parts of the sticks are a pleated leaf. The lower portions are usually painted more lightly, either in subject or tone, or with a smaller scale painting. The ribbon holding the sticks together often appears to be part of the scene or is painted as a decorative border. The artists executed these visual tricks with great skill; the vernisseurs equaled that talent. Much as no one has quite figured out Stradivarius' ways with a violin, no one has cracked the riddle of the Martins' colorless varnish. Fans made by the brothers retain their vibrant colors two and a half centuries later; replicas fashioned by Martin "wannabes" are usually not as richly hued. Even more telling is that the varnish of the replicas muddies with time, taking on a yellow, green, or gray-brown cast. Even more than three-quarters of a century ago, one expert warned collectors that "Genuine specimens in good condition are extremely rare and of considerable value" (Percival 152). True Vernis Martins remain extremely difficult to find (much less afford), and most collectors are thrilled to discover a good 19th century replica. In this one, three peasants greet one another in the foreground; a mountain stream meanders under an arched bridge near ruins in the background. This scene is another clue to the fan's status as a replica: a true 18th century fan would not depict real peasants, (as opposed to the later fashion of courtiers posing as shepherds and shepherdesses). Most 18th century fans were tools of the rich, who did not often bother to notice those beneath them, much less immortalize them on a treasured accessory. The verso shows a similar scene. gl. 6 1/2" (16cm) gw. 3/4" (1.9 cm) op. 12" (30 cm); 160 28/2 brass rivet. Mayor, Collector's, p. 30; Percival 151-7; Perthuis p. 137. 15. accession H.96.82 3QR
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