Fans

Few art forms combine functional, ceremonial and decorative uses as elegantly as the fan. Fewer still can match such diversity with a history stretching back at least 3,000 years.

This article is also online at www.florilegium.org/files/ACCESS/hnd-fan-hist-art.html .

A folding fan based on a Roman example found in a woman's sarcophagus in York.

A handout from a class on constructing fans with ostrich & peacock feathers.

A flag-fan, glove, and pendant in the shape of a gondola, all from Venice ca. 1600.

An overview of late 16th century fans, documenting a modern construction of a feather fan.

Includes contemporary descriptions of clothing, as well as a glossary of terms relating to civil, professional, ceremonial, ecclesiastical, and military costume.

Links to portraits of women carrying fans (mostly feather fans, but some flag fans and folding fans as well) -- and also some examples from museum collections.

A summary of accessorie s for outfits for Italian women in the early 16th century.

A step-by-step procedure (with photos).

A history of Japanese folding fans, and a method of construction.

Use of folding fans in period.