E0403: Fan

Ethnographic

---

Identifier:

E0403

Classification Category:

3:Personal Artifacts ➞ Personal Gear

Materials:

animal ➔ feather
animal ➔ bone
metal
colorant ➔ paint

Dimensions:

28 cm L
45.5 cm W
2 cm H

Provenance of Object:

This fan is of Chinese style due to numerous aspects of the fan. However it is possible that it is Korean as well. It is very possible that Korea adopted the style of Chinese work during the late 1800’s because of the large influence that China had in Korea during this time. Although because of the fan painting motif, and ivory inscriptions I would argue that it is Chinese style.
A fan of this type was common amongst the upper class Manchu Women of the Mid-Qing dynasty. This can be determined by examining pictures of these women, recognizable by their hairstyle. Often these women were seen holding a fan similar to this one as an accessory. (Hist361)

This object was held in the museum that Luther College started in 1877. This museum eventually grew into the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, and following this, non-Norwegian American ethnographic objects were returned to Luther and accessioned into the college’s Anthropology Collection. Without additional documentation, was likely obtained by the Luther College Museum (later the Norwegian-American Museum) between the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Production Date:

This fan can be dated to the Mid-Qing dynasty in China. The ivory guard pieces of this fan resemble “straight eggplant” which is associated with this time in Chinese history. Also the motifs found on the fan such as the archaic inscriptions in the ivory and the painting denote a popular style during the Qing Dynasty. The archaic inscriptions resemble those found on bronze vessels, and was a popular motif on decorative objects belonging to scholars at this time. Also fan painting was extremely popular during the Qing dynasty. (Hist361)

Use/Function:

This fan likely served a very aesthetic purpose. A fan with this much attention to detail and of such extreme delicacy did not commonly serve a practical purpose during the Qing dynasty. Many pictures show women of upper-social classes to be holding fans similar to this one and using it as an accessory. Folding fans were also closely associated with the Empress Cixi Dowager. Fans such as these were ways in which women displayed their wealth, so that they were easily identified with prosperity. These fans were also popular exported items to Europe, and China recorded a large amount of exported fans during the 1800’s. (Hist361)

Source Locality:

China

Description:

Fan feather made out of 22 peach-colored feathers attached to thin bone stems.

---